Dave, my statement was a generalization. I am well aware of the fact that people in foreign countries are paid in their own currency. That doesn't change the fact that we enjoy our luxuries at the expense of others. As I said, there's a reason the United States imports everything. I could go on and on but here is what this all comes down to:
Civilization is not sustainable. Civilization requires specialization which requires a surplus of food. A surplus of food inevitably leads to overpopulation and the depletion of resources. 99% of all of our ancestors lived primitively. Humans were meant to live primitively. Civilization is brand new and, since its inception, it has gradually strangled creation.
The assumption that my ideology is informed by some trendy movement is just boring. From where I'm standing your heart looks hardened. I'm sure you would think the same of me. So I guess we'll have to agree to disagree and trust that, through Christ, we will come to the same conclusion.
I'd like to steer this conversation in a slightly different direction. Let's stop arguing back and forth about whether Shane's honest and well-meaning desire to self-sacrifice is correct or not. Let's find the things that we agree on together, then work together to see what we CAN do about it? I'll go first...
Let's start by looking at capitalism itself. I'll take a rather physical and practical approach to things, because that seemed the goal of the original poster. Others here are probably better qualified to address the spiritual aspects of this, and many already have.
Henry Ford said that capitalism is, and I'm paraphrasing from memory, "Making the best product you can, at the lowest price you can, while paying the highest wage you can." These days, I believe that definition is incorrect. I'd propose it is now "Making the cheapest product you can, at the highest price you can, while paying the lowest wage you can." The first (Henry Ford's definition) sounds like sharing and solidarity. The second (my modern definition) sounds like selfishness and division.
I don't believe there should be any debate which is the Godly way, and which is not. It is self-evident. Also, either one can manifest in any economic system. Neither one requires "civilization."
So now the question is, as far as living in a capitalistic society is concerned, what can WE do to live Godly? We ARE Jesus' body here on Earth, after all.
We can be like Henry Ford, if we are the employer - pay the best wage we can, rather than looking after our own bonuses and the bottom line, first. We can support those who are like Henry Ford, if we are the consumer. We should find other opportunities to share with the needy, too. Of course, these are both easier said than done, and we WILL suffer persecution if we do this. It will require a simple (not necessarily primitive) and frugal lifestyle.
I do not believe that we are called to CHANGE the society into something else by protests, revolution, voting, or becoming an elected official. Rather, I believe that we are called to live in the society that God has placed us in, and to do so peacefully. Jesus did none of these things against the worldly authorities of His time.
That's all I have time for now. Let's let some others help out, please.
Steve