Is the death or rebirth of innovation upon us?

"The ruin of the human heart is self-interest, which the American merchant calls self-service. We have become a self-service populace, and all our specious comforts -- the automatic elevator, the escalator, the cafeteria -- are depriving us of volition and moral and physical energy." (Edward Dahlberg)

This proclamation set me thinking. Are we setting ourselves up to be more innovative, or less? Perhaps, at this juncture, the willingness to think about it matters more than forcing an answer?