&gt; In this case it&#x27;s the drive for culture that causes monoculture.<p>It&#x27;s the drive for a culture <i>that can be commodified and packaged up</i> that causes monoculture.<p>I was passing through times square the other week.  One of the 10-story tall LED billboards had a girl in underwear with the tagline &quot;No retouching on this girl! The real you is sexy.&quot;  We seem to be disillusioned, and that makes authenticity in advertising hot. So find the hottest authentic girl, package her up, and mass-produce her authenticity.<p>The way out is to build your cultural values around that which cannot be commodified.  Value <i>authentic</i> authenticity, and value the things that can&#x27;t be measured in dollars and economic efficiency.  We&#x27;ve known what that is: self-expression, creativity, friendship, family, and love.<p>What we struggle with is recognizing <i>fake</i> authenticity.  For some reason we value hallmark love more than a handwritten note because the hallmark typeset is more refined or it has a more clever tagline or the art on the cover will supposedly evoke a deeper emotion than any stick figure I&#x27;m capable of drawing.<p>We&#x27;ve been conditioned to think the best expression of our love is something that can be bought in the card isle, and we&#x27;ve forgotten that our love is actually ours to give freely.<p>The only way out of the catch-22 is to decondition your way out of the value and belief system that perpetuates the catch-22. What&#x27;s the old adage? Do not try and bend the spoon. That&#x27;s impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth: there is no spoon.