I'm not sure if standards of living would be the right way to put it. I think it's just a culture of of needless consumerism. I remember really an article of a family of 4 that comfortable lives on $25,000 per year (though they make more) compared with a family of 4 where the father is a doctor and the mother is a dentist. I think the latter family was making over $350,000/year. Of course the latter family was also that it just wasn't enough to finish building their million dollar home and pay for their kid's private schools and nannies etc. It's just ridiculous how people don't even think twice to spend more than they earn.
When you go around telling people how much they can spend, and on what, you are very close to socialism, especially if you are pushing people to live off of very small amounts of money.
People should be able to spend and save whatever amounts of money they want, including borrowing what others perceive to be recklessly to spend what they wish to spend. Obviously this will be limited by the amount of money they have in the bank (and other assets), and various lenders' willingness to lend to these people.