Such symptoms and syndromes cannot be understood in purely economic terms, if only because they are as prevalent among the middle class as they are among the poor. What is possible, however, is that the Western ethos of unhampered freedom and permissive tolerance fails to provide some people with the psychological scaffolding needed to construct an identity that can cope with the demands and pressures of constant individual choice.
这些症状和症候用纯粹的经济理论是无法理解的，因为它们在中产阶级中间与在穷人中间一样普遍。但是，有可能西方的无阻碍自由和宽容精神没能为一些人提供构建可以应对持续个人选择的要求和压力的身份的心理基础。