Way to miss the point of Hogfather.I love and deeply respect Pterry and his work, but I don't think the belief in Santa Claus is what separates me from a chimp.
EDIT: But if I'm wrong, and Sir Terry is right, that is a naughty word terrifying and chilling endorsement of capitalism. I'm only human because I buy things.
Commerce has nothing to do with it. That's a side effect. The important part is to believe in myths, because that's how you learn how to believe in things that, strictly speaking, do not exist, because that's how you make them exist.
"THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED."
Justice, Mercy, Law, Kindness, Love... those are all things that only exist insofar as humans make them exist. And humans need to learn how to do that, and what to aim for.