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Western society has an obsession. It is a dark and crippling fixation. Many people do not even realize the trap society has lured them into. The procurement of material wealth has become an obsession in modern Western culture. The culture has become obsessed with acquiring vast amounts of wealth and anything associated with “being wealthy”. This need for material objects has intensified overtime. The progression of materialism in the western world has caused a decrease in the happiness and overall well-being of the people that reside in the society. Materialism as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary is “a doctrine that the only or the highest values or objectives lie in material well-being and in the furtherance of material progress”. Cuing Consumerism, an article by Association for Psychological Science, defines materialism as “as a value system that is preoccupied with possessions and the social image they project” (Bauer, Wilkie, Kim and Bodenhausen, pg.518). There are varying definitions on what exactly materialism is. What all the definitions have in common state is that materialism is an obsession with having physical possessions. The human desire for physical possessions is a valid need. Humans require certain psychical objects in order to survive. Having possessions such as an adequate amount of food, shelter, water and clothing is necessary for human survival. If humans had no desire for our basic necessity it is likely we would have become extinct thousands of years ago. It is not until that need becomes excessive and an obsession that it becomes problematic. Materialism has been a problem in western Society for a millennium. The human capacity for greed knows no bounds. Looking throughout history examples o... ... middle of paper ... ...ether. Works Cited 1. Oswald, Andrew. "Rich in Misery." New Scientist 193.2588 (2007): 44-45. Print. 2. Madeline Devine. “How Materialism Hurts Our Kids: Privilege” Tikkun.org (2007). 34-38 3. Burroughs, James E., and Aric Rindfleisch. "Materialism and Well‐Being: A Conflicting Values Perspective." Journal of Consumer Research 29.3 (2002): 348-70. Print. 4. Terry Nichols Clark. “Is Materialism Rising in America?” Social Science and Public Policy(2000). 47-48 5. A. Bauer, James E. B. Wilkie, Jung K. Kim and Galen V. Bodenhausen . “Cuing Consumerism: Situational Materialism Undermines Personal and Social Well-Being.” Psychological Science: (2012). 518-529 6. Andrew M. Baker, George P Moschis, Fon Sim Ong, and Ra-Pee Pattanapanyasat. “Materialism and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Stress and Religiosity.” The Journal of Consumer Affairs(2013). 549-562
“I rather would be blind than then see this world in yellow, and bought and sold by kings that hammer roses into gold.” (King Midas Pg.462 Para.10) Many think that if they got what they wanted they would be happy, but if the world was all based on malterlistic things and everyone got what they wanted there would be chaos and no feelings just want and people would do crazy things to get what they want. Now a day’s people mistake malterlistic things for happiness. “The necklace”, “Ads may spur unhappy kids to embrace materialism”, And “Thrill of the chase” illustrates examples of materialism and show some base their happiness on it.
1. The main idea is not only that owning stuff is not the key to happiness, it’s also that consumers today own more than they need to thrive which directly impacts the environment. Hill illustrates the environmental impact by showing statistics of global warming today versus the past century, and how consumerism is leading to a hotter climate. Hill debunks claims of buying happiness by discussing a study where stress hormones spike to their highest when people are managing their personal belongings. Hill’s most prominent example that consumerism is not the answer is himself, as he discusses some of the most stressful times of his life being right after coming into a large sum of money and buying whatever he fancied. When Hill concludes his article, he states that “I have less—and enjoy more. My space is small. My life is big” (213).
A well-known expression is that money can’t buy happiness, yet people fantasize of winning the lottery, living in their dream house, and possessing enough tangible objects to feel satisfied with their lives. Most are under the preconceived notion that the absence of wealth and power translates to hardship and despair. This, however, is not the case, because a self-effacing lifestyle is not an indication of a lower quality of life, and often is better than one of great fortune. People yearn to have the financial independence and capabilities of those in higher ranking positions, and are willing to abandon their morals and own personal well-being if it means being successful. It seems that by reaching a level of wealth in which money is no longer
...hat materialistic attitudes are harmful to one's well-being. “The psychological perspective attributes the development of materialistic values to family circumstances that create stress and self esteem issues that promote materialistic values,” (Hung Vu Nguyen.) Many people in our culture attribute material goods to personal achievement. Truth rings true with Bertrand Russell’s statement “It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” Even at young ages children are competing and bragging to one another of who has more possessions. Past studies by Rindfleisch say that materialism developed over time as a response to stress due to family issues such as divorce, separation, and loss of loved ones. Materialism leads consumers to put a disproportionate amount of their resources into acquiring goods.
Have you ever wanted something, an item or material so badly that you would do anything or give up anything for it? Well, guess what? Materials are not a necessary thing in your life. Materialism is ruining people's lives to the point where it is their occupation. In today’s society materialism take part in every person’s life, no matter where they are from or what social class they are.
In today’s world, people in general like to keep up with the latest things such as gadgets like the iPhone. They tend to spend an ample amount of time on their gadgets or whatever the latest item is instead of dedicating their time to the more important things. During family dinners, everyone is usually on their phones. People may prefer to spend a day at the mall instead of volunteering. High credit card bills can result from spending so much money on the new things rather than paying bills. The social pressure to keep up with these material items has an effect on quality bonding time which has an effect on money. Consumerism actually sets a person against oneself because of the never-ending mission to acquire material objects therefore people should not concentrate their religious faith in materialism.
Three of the most satisfying materials that a person could own is a home, money, and a car. At least one of these items is essential for a person no matter where they live. The home is the most satisfying material that a person could own. A home is a place that one can go to rest, eat, and just live. A home provides memories and a place for a family to grow. A home satisfies people with protection, an investment, security, safety, and privacy. The home is definitely a key item of satisfying materials. Another satisfying material that a person could own is money. Money is something that is very important to possess. Owning money can satisfy a person’s hunger, shelter, and just everything it takes for that person to live. A person would not be satisfied if they did not own any money. They would be depressed and have to live on the streets. Money alone cannot satisfy a person on a whole but it brings together the whole term of satisfaction. The last item that is satisfying is a car. A car is something that can satisfy ones need to get around. It is important to use to get to work, school, and places to far to venture on foot. A car is a machine with great power and can also satisfy one with air conditioning on a hot day. It can satisfy a person with ride to ones favorite place such as the beach. A home, money, and a car are all materials that a person can own to satisfy them.
Of all the strange beasts that have come slouching into the 20th century, none has been more misunderstood, more criticized, and more important than materialism. Who but fools, toadies, hacks, and occasional loopy libertarians have ever risen to its defense? Yet the fact remains that while materialism may be the most shallow of the 20th century's various -isms, it has been the one that has ultimately triumphed. The world of commodities appears so antithetical to the world of ideas that it seems almost heresy to point out the obvious: most of the world most of the time spends most of its energy producing and consuming more and more stuff. The really interesting question may be not why we are so materialistic, but why we are so unwilling to acknowledge
society. Much of the world today is based on materialism and the worth of one’s
...tlessly pursuing its own destructive materialism. It is a human fault however, having possessed wealth, like a drug, one must have more and more still until nothing else in the world matters. Money being power and power money, mankind foolishly is seen destroying itself for the betterment of a select few.
The desire for more and the one thing that keeps the economy of today’s world running. We are continuously being bombarded with images of things that we can accomplish, that once we possess them we are supposed to feel happier and more fulfilled than ever before. Greed is an insatiable need for more, where more is never enough. Greed can never be satisfied, once you attain your heart’s desire another desire takes its place. Greed is egocentric and destructive. Neighbors’ are no longer friends but rivals in a competition. Family members are no longer loved ones but obstacles in the quest for the newest, brightest and best. Greed is like a whirlpool, it keeps drawing victims nearer it 's center and in due time as the center is reached the force pulls victims under and destroys them. We have seen how the story Necklace portrayed greed as an addiction in the fictional world, with examples of the real world. The paper went on to discuss how greed is potentially destructive for the society, connecting ECON 101 concepts. And lastly we touched upon how greed is manipulative, with examples from Shakespeare’s famous play Macbeth and also from real life experiences. According to an experiment by University of California, Berkeley, “Riches are less ethical because they see greed as good, ‘The drivers of the most expensive vehicles were four times more likely to cut off drivers of lower status vehicles’” (Szalavitz). They conducted 5 other experiments to finally come to the first
These different dimensions have an impact on marketing, which materialistic societies will respond to more informative advertisements about specific luxury products or must-haves, and the non-materialistic culture will not respond well to such advertisements because of how they are content within themselves with the guidance of their spiritual other. The non-materialistic societies will be more focused on spiritual alignment than getting the new Bentley, which means that more operantly conditioned advertisements would be effective in these cultures.
Materialism leads people to be financially irresponsible. People are more likely to buy certain products because
This is a thought-provoking book about the pursuit of material goods. Kasser is not a preacher, but a scientist. He presents his evidence carefully, and concludes that materialism is a game not worth playing even on its own terms of promoting human happiness.
Acquiring things like houses and cars only has a transient effect on happiness. People’s desires for material possessions crank up at the same, or greater rate, than their salaries. Again, this means that despite considerably more luxurious possessions, people end up no happier. There’s even evidence that materialism makes us less happy. People don’t shift to enjoyable activities when they are rich.... ...