When the economy is humming, living responsibly can mean living sustainably. Today it means darkening the massive doorway of a Wal-Mart. A survey of 1,000 consumers conducted last week by America's Research Group shows a massive number of Americans expect to do holiday shopping at a Wal-Mart.

Those heartless corporate mongers. They buy in bulk. They offer cheap products to poor people. They refuse to allow unions to destroy a sound business model. Well, they can't be stopped in bad times. Wal-Mart sales have spiked.

During turbulent times, we also have learned that consumers are less apt to overpay for organic turnips. They start hitting McDonald's. The chain is (comparatively) booming; sales at stores that have been open for at least one year climbed almost 8 percent in November. With a national effort to demonize fast-food restaurants as the cause of obesity, you can imagine this will not sit well with some folks.

America: drunk, fat, armed and, worst of all, environmentally unsound.

Also greedy. The massive prosperity that the far left calls materialism allows the rich folk to fund charities and cultural institutions. Through their taxes, we indulge in all things progressives love. Now nearly everything the enlightened have been lecturing us about for the past 10 years is being undone by recession.

When we have our next economic boom -- and we will -- are the do-gooders going to assail consumer excess or just be thankful? I mean imagine Wall Street bankers, CEOs, oil barons, organic gardeners and Smart car enthusiasts all living together in prosperity.