Black Friday has become a bizarre spectacle of consumer chaos, but it also reveals a deeper issue with how we view economic growth. Today, it’s accepted as fact that consumer spending is the prime driver of economic growth, based on the theories of John Maynard Keynes. This broken view of economics undergirds decades of government policies and programs. Growing wealth in the long term is about productivity, savings, and investment—not maxed-out credit cards and shopping sprees. There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of a good deal, but don’t believe the myth that your Christmas shopping will save the economy.