i agree with grizzlybear to a large extent. i'd add that we in "the west" (a trite phrase, i know) have our priorities completely wrong.
our political and "educated" (read: "trained") elite still think that quality of life is reducible to material wealth (and for them, perhaps, it really is). they pursue it unquestioningly whilst the rest of us are forced to live the consequences.
(e.g. social alienation, a prevailing obsession with work and competition, "status anxiety", high property prices, sickening consumerism, long working/commuting hours, etc. etc.)
all of the above leads to a cold, clinical soulless world where you can't relax, think, or choose your own pace or take your own path. and even when you realize that you do want to get out of it, you realize you can't because everything and everyplace is owned by somebody.
so, if you can't keep up, then its homelessness or suicide (or if you're really lucky, a dirty stinking bedsit for the rest of your life).
its true that things are better in many ways than they ever have been (we're safer, have more rights, are physically healthier), but we've lost something too. creativity, nature, spirituality, meaning, perspective, thought? dunno.