Some of the most impoverished communities often have the greatest sense of gratitude and thankfulness for what they have, extending beyond material items. They are thankful for the friends, families, religions, as well as skills they obtain, and tend not to focus on the material items they are lacking. Ownership can be seen as the act, state, or right, of possessing something and is well defined by both Plato, who claims owning objects is detrimental to a person’s character, and Jean-Paul Sartre who proposes that ownership extends beyond objects. Skills and qualities that you posses are more valuable than tangible goods and allow you to fully develop a good, moral, character and sense of self. An example of someone who is lacking many tangible …show more content…
Americans often chase after things such as being socially accepted, attaining wealth, having a bigger house, and are view things as “bigger is better”. American culture has a tendency to promote quantity over quality and other countries view Americans as loud, selfish, and obnoxious. Also, other cultures view Americans as stressed out and unhappy people because they are always trying to make more money or buy more things. Studies show that U.S. workers put in more hours on their job than the labor force of any other industrial nations and have a “live so they can work” motivation. This mentality of achievements, making lots of money, and that owning material goods equate to happiness stems from the early American Dream, that prosperity and freedom can only be attained through upward social mobility and hard work. Many had a goal of owning a house or making higher income but achieving those goals was rare, and it was common for people to end up working hard, long, hours in factory, sometimes becoming depressed or addicted to alcohol. This ideal of acquiring happiness and prosperity through increased income and upward social mobility, caused many Americans to be unhappy, harming their moral character rather than helping
Today, American society seems to have become trapped behind a mirror, encouraged to pursue one’s own perfection and dreams above all others. Even during the conception of the country people uprooted their lives and left their families and everything they knew in hope for a better life for themselves. They left to explore a new land by themselves where no one knew them seeking to escape who they used to be. The early Americans pursued their self-advancement and the ability to climb the social ladder, and this possibility of a new life became known as the “American Dream:” the lonely selfish pursuit of a better life. This seed of hope was the plague that begot a largely solitary existence. The “American Dream”
Ownership is the act, state, or right of possessing something. Many people believe taking ownership is parallel to taking responsibility. In some cases, taking responsibility can be rewarding, but in other cases, it can be very self centered. According to Aristotle, ownership of tangible objects leads to develop moral character, even though it is not stated whether those morals are good or bad. Plato exaggerates how disparaging ownership can be to one's character and life. The affect ownership obtains on moral character is intensely detrimental.
It is one sad existence, to live and die, without discovering, what could have been. The question is often asked, what is the meaning of life? Or even, what is the purpose? There is no clear answer, and yet there is a search in every moment, every breath, and every corner, for a minute hint. In a societal setting, identity is merely determined by the amount of tangible things owned. Society places the ideology on individuals that those who own the most tangible things are above others. An individual can trump all those societal values by owning the self. This brings equality to all, and levels the playing field. This has been true throughout history, however behind all of this, there are individuals learning to conquer themselves. It begs the question, what defines a person, the physical or the metaphysical? There is obviously a compelling relationship between ownership and the sense of self or identity. But, is it ownership that determines the sense of self or is it perhaps, that the sense of self determines ownership. The
In “The Great Dictator” Charlie Chaplin said “In this world there is room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls.” What is greed? Greed is an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth. As a citizen of the United States, many have heard of the term the “American Dream”. James Truslow Adams, in his book “The Epic of America”, which was written in 1931, stated that the American dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” (Adams p.214-215). It’s according to this dream that many people acquire this goal of becoming successful at all cost in America. At all cost, meaning they would do anything to gain success. The U.S even though it is based on opportunity has fallen to greed. The U.S citizens have fallen to greed because of selfish desires, wanting to maximize profit, and a strong fixation towards self-growth.
Living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, our culture has naturally valued prestige and luxuries. We admire fancy items and often judge other individuals by the clothes they wear, the car they drive, and the schools that they attend. The “American Dream” serves as a motivational factor for people; believing that hard work and dedication can bring “success” to ones’ life. Although this is partially true, it is difficult for individuals in the middle class and lower class.
In the modern world, people posses more than what they can actually keep tract of physically and mentally. Everyone wants to live the “good life” where they can have no limits to the things they want. Whether it is clothes, cars, jewelry, or houses, the need to buy things that are affordable and are in style preoccupies the minds of many people. The argument for necessity goes against this way of modern living, but agrees with Thoreau's view on it. The argument is that people should have enough of each just ...
The American culture is very materialistic. People are always looking for the next best thing in technology or luxuries of any kind. They are willing to spend loads of money on something that will hold no personal meaning to them, it would just make them feel like they can afford it and look cool. Being a materialistic society also ties in with the culture identifying people by social classes (e.g. white collar, blue collar, etc.). The American culture has a group of high society people that look down on others that are not like them. They make it very clear who is in control of their society and whoever isn’t is left with following what the white collared, rich people do. The lower classes have nowhere near as much power as the higher one. One other important value that this culture takes for granted is education and the freedom of having it provided to everyone. High school kids by far are the ones that take their education for granted now because they are so caught up in technology and the teachers don’t enforce how important education is for their
In terms, the more stuff we have, the happier we are. Aristotle illustrates this well in his Nicomachean ethics stating, “...happiness, we claim, is an end and something in every final way....” (Source A). Aristotle suggests the idea that something is needed to find the society deemed definition of happiness. Without it, happiness is nonexistent. Aristotle continues his ethics by saying, “He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods” (Source A). Today, Americans are growing into this society of selfishness and greed. Happiness has become the main focus of many people, obtaining whatever they can, no matter the situation in hopes of findind what they are missing. They strongly believe that “just a little bit more will finally buy happiness” (Source E). They have been given the free right to buy what they feel will successfully buy happiness. However, just because America has given everyone the same unalienable right, the pursuit of happiness, does not mean everyone crosses the finish
As demonstrated in Henry David Thoreau’s passage from Economy, Wendell Berry’s from Waste, and John Kenneth Galbraith’s passage from The Dependence Effect, America’s overly advancing society thrusts ideas like materialism and the “love of buying” into the interior of every American’s mind. Even the American Dream, a fundamental notion to our nation, now unites all people of all cultures under materialism and greed. The highly capitalist American society distorts values such as the “quest for freedom” into a search for cash and the frontiers no longer exist. America’s increased production yields the increased wants of consumers and as Galbraith states, “One man’s consumption becomes his neighbor’s wish (479).” With this reckoning, the more wants satisfied, the more new ones born. Berry, on the other hand, more out rightly attacks America’s capitalist economy and the wastes it has produced when saying “The truth is that we Americans, all of us, have become a kind of human trash, living our lives in the midst of ubiquitous damned mess of which we are at once the victims and the perpetrators (485).” America’s corporate capitalism and consumerism culture undermines our well-being in that we deplete Earth's limited resources, produce excess waste, and indulge excessively in unnecessary luxuries that ultimately result in our unhappiness and financial downfall, while trapping us in an endless cycle of dependency.
In 1931 when the American Dream arose, Americans believed that the harder one worked, the more one would prosper (Meacham, 2012). In other words, they strongly believed that the American Dream was gaining a better, richer, happier life. Today, the American Dream is still hoping to earn a college degree, get a good job, buy a house, and start a family, but according to MetLife’s fifth annual survey, 41% of the respondents said it was about personal fulfillment, while most American’s say it is out of reach for many (White, ...
Sandler, Lauren. "The American Nightmare: We Have Everything the American Dream Prescribed, So Why Aren't We Happy?" Psychology Today 44.2 (2011): 70-77. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 20 July 2011.
The inequality issues of America are becoming severe. Not all men are created equal. The belief that everyone can reach the American Dream with the right attitude is not rational. The wages in America are not as high as they are portrayed. Some people’s beliefs and life choices can affect their place in society. The level you are at in the economy has everything to do with where you fall in the social pyramid.
First, John Steinbeck shows how Americans are dissatisfied and angry with many things in their life. There is a paradox that states “We find our time searching for security, and hate it when we get it.” This shows that no matter what Americans want, once they get it they are always searching for more. When Americans achieve what they have been striving for, they always go above and beyond to be number one. Also, Steinbeck explains how Americans convince themselves that their country has the greatest government in the world, but we find every little problem with it and do nothing to change it. Americans say how much they love the government, but when people disagree with something, they complain, get frustrated, and become so opinionated that they do not even bother trying to understand other peoples’ views. The American dream is wanted by so many people. They want the perfect house, the perfect family, and the perfect neighborhood. We all want the American dream but most of us do not even stay in the same house for more than fiv...
People in America today seem to be only concerned with them. They are always looking out for number one. That is a saying that has been taught to us for years. Along with another popular precept: you can't please everyone all of the time. These are just a couple of examples of how Americans are taught to be selfish. Sure, mom and dad always teach generosity to their young children, but in this society, those lessons diminish with age. We learn that life isn't always fair and people don't always have to share if they don't want to. In this so-called free country, the rich get everything and the poor get nothing. This type of environment has caused a rat race among the people. He who has the most wins. In America it is for the most money, but there are many other people in the world who might disagree. What would they want the most of? you ask. Well, that depends on whom you ask.
All over the world the United States is recognized as a land full of opportunity but it is also recognized as one of the most materialistic countries in the world. Americans through the years have always determined their self-worth by how much stuff they have, how much money they have. Americans also tend to be the most materialistic because of where they live. They live in a country full of riches and where the standard of living is so high those are partially why Americans are materialistic the other part is that it is just human nature. We not only live in a country of riches but we are sad having about everything we need. Unlike other countries a lot of Americans are not in a bad economic state and this from the perspective of another person in a low economy country may be seen as being materialistic. Based on various accounts we can say that Americans are materialistic but they are materialistic to an extent, the U.S is a country where now we define our self-worth by how much we own.