I hate to always be blaming things on capitalism, but capitalism really is the reason. Capitalism is so individualistic, so anti-community, so anti-other people, so selfish, so self-centered, just inherently amoral. We live in a society that considers "progress" and "power" to be the only things that matter. We made an economy that thrives solely upon the consumption of items that people do not need and we are aware of this and we think it is a GOOD THING.
It's capitalism. It creates a wicked, evil world, filled with wicked, evil people.
It's funny, because when I argue for socialism, I'm always told that it wouldn't work because no one would have the right "incentive" to work hard. What an unfortunate commentary on who we are, who we've become: the only reason anyone would work hard was because he was getting paid more, not because working hard is just right, because a job well done is a reward unto itself.
That's how people defend capitalism, then: we can't jettison an inherently selfish system, because otherwise we couldn't be selfish and we'd have to find a more decent way to be.