wealth- at what cost?

from an Bruderhof.com article:

Many statistical measures of social connectedness—voting in elections, joining political movements, writing letters to editors, participating in civic and social organizations, belonging to labor unions, attending church, visiting in other peoples’ homes, etc.—indicate that Americans are only about half as socially interconnected today as in the 1950s. Another set of statistics shows the likely consequences of this growing disconnectedness. Dramatic increases in per capita expenditures for law enforcement, prisons, lawyers, and courts reflect a nation increasingly unable to resolve personal conflicts. Dramatic increases in suicides, clinical depression, and malaise, including headaches, indigestion, and sleeplessness are the logical physical symptoms of growing personal isolation. Each generation of Americans reaching adulthood since the 1960s has indicated they are less satisfied with life, less happy, than the previous generation.

This growing disconnectedness and unhappiness is not merely a coincidence with America’s increasing wealth. The means we chose for our pursuit of wealth was industrial economic development... In the early stages, industrialization brings people together, as they learn to cooperate and share work, carrying out tasks more efficiently working together than alone. Beyond the early stages, however, it becomes more efficient to coordinate activities through markets, rather than through personal relationships. Specialized producers begin to buy and sell standardized products, working for others or hiring workers, rather than working together on collaborative economic ventures. Beyond this point, relationships are defined by transactions and contracts rather than by shared interests and commitments. One such relationship is readily exchanged for another, depending on the economic benefits. Personal caring and connectedness are sacrificed to achieve greater economic efficiency.