Personally, I favor the plain way of living, such as the Amish.  Yes, I do enjoy technology, cars, and indoor plumbing; but in all honesty, I think I could live without.  The world today is largely based on 'wants' instead of 'needs,' however in some countries needs are not even met.  The U.S. has gotten stuck on the 'high class' way of living and usually put a high emphasis on material things.  Granted, I'm guilty for this as well, but if our nation started living like the Amish, there would be much less chaos.  Material things cause people to get greedy and not think of those in need.  If we only used what we needed and made what we needed, there would be less anxiety in the world; we wouldn't have to worry about running out of resources.  (I always said I wanted to live like the Amish.)