I don't buy your definition of need and luxury, but I agree that words like 'need', 'desire', and 'want' should be defined a bit more clearly. Yeah, my use of the word 'need' is perhaps a bit vague, but these words are used in a vague sense all the time.
Let's just say that working to produce things you can't afford to buy annoys a lot of people.
I think the discussion has started off topic in that it's about materialism - consumerist-materialism, anyway - in China specifically and the discussion (that I guess I veered off into) is about the consumerist-materialist impulse in China specifically.
If you want to discuss the subject in general terms, by all means start a thread, I'll be happy to kick in my point of view.


Update: Officials fired after school stampede kills six
发布者I see - bribery to get into elite schools - doesn't surprise me.
Update: Officials fired after school stampede kills six
发布者I see - bribery to get into elite schools - doesn't surprise me.
Update: Officials fired after school stampede kills six
发布者@tallamerican: No, I don't think so, although you're right, a lot of things are.
Update: Officials fired after school stampede kills six
发布者Of all the schools in Kunming, how many are run on a profit-making basis? My guess is that most are not.
Spring City looks to embrace sweeping green agenda
发布者I think any move in this direction is a good one, although I doubt that any of these projects will be good enough. Anybody know figures on the amount of air pollution that the increasingly large number of private cars produces here?