The basic needs of life are food, water, shelter, and oxygen. They are the four materials required for human life to flourish and prosper. However, as the human mind has evolved more in the past century, people have become more materialistic, and wants have become necessity. As life progresses, new and better materials come out that the mind will latch onto as a want, and it will read that want as a need. United States Americans in the, twenty-first century’s world, are the guiltiest of all when it comes to be too materialistic, and it is becoming a major issue.
The human mind interprets information, and then does whatever it can do with that. When someone looks at an item after having used a previous version of it (an IPhone for example), most people will instantly think that they want it just because it is ‘better’ or just because it is new. The line between want and need is broken in most minds like this considering that the person just does not need a bigger screen to do the same tasks they did before, he could just bring it closer to his face. The line is not drawn just for electronics, but also for clothes, food, and any other luxury in the world. Granted that food is needed to survive, not all foods are needed. An example of that is someone choosing between salad and pizza, because most go for the greased up pile of bread and cheese instead of the nutrient rich salad (without dressing, of course). It is almost as though wants and needs only come up just because there is some kind of material…
John Kenneth Galbraith, in his book The Dependence Effect states just that throughout the pages. He talks about how people have forgotten what their needs are, and the wants evolved into what they cannot live without. The only reason...
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...f America is too drowned in this mindset that it will take decades if not centuries to get out of it, and back on track to the reality of its situation. People are buying goods they do not need, hoarding them for later, and then they are using luxuries that are to be better used elsewhere. Minds in this country are forgetting what the true meanings are in want and need, switching around wants to the word need, and then throwing the reality away. Food, water, and shelter are what life needs, not an IPhone 18Y-bother, and Americans in the United States need to realize this.
Works Cited
Galbraith, John Kenneth. "The Dependence Effect." The Language of Composition 1958: 478.
Rose, Phyllis. "Shopping and Other Spiritual Adventures in America Today." The Langauge of Composition 1984: 483-484.
Schor, Juliet. "The New Consumerism." The Language of Composition 1999: 487.
Going through college should not be as easy as going through a drive-thru at a fast food restaurant. Young adults should be interactive and critically thinking throughout their education, not disinterested of it. Author Simon Benlow, in his essay “Have It Your Way: Consumerism Invades Education,” believes that students are turning to consumerist ways, not thanks to the college’s culture (139). Since my return to community college, there has been a trend with the younger adults: Not caring.
In our contemporary American life we have the desire for things that we do not really need to make us happy. Our commercial world intends to sell us substitutes for the things we truly need in order to be happy. We replace our real needs with things like clothing, furniture, cars, nice houses, and many other unessential items. Many individuals place the blame for an unhappy lifestyle on their occupation, and search out alternatives such as material items. We are happy when we receive things fast, because of our lack of patience, and because we simply enjoy the hassle free lifestyle. Our technological advances have made many things easy for us and it brings us some joy. Examples include that we rather drive than walk, and eat from unhealthy fast food restaurants than cook a meal ourselves. We see advertisements everywhere selling us products to make us happy, however the happiness from sex, food, and excitement are pleasures that are short lived. If we took away all unnecessary items for survival from our society today, could we still be happy? ...
‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley is a science-fiction book in which people live in a futuristic society and a place called the World State. In ‘Brave New World’, Aldous Huxley used the idea of consumerism to describe the behaviors and lives of the citizens of the World State. The practice of consumerism by the people of the World State fulfilled their satisfactory and happiness. However, it also blinded purity and truth among its people. Different classes and different genders of people practiced different acts of consumerism such as consuming soma, technology and bodies. They sought happiness from them and eventually these acts became a social norm. However, these practices of consumerism also had side effects. It blinded truth such as
According to Abraham Maslow, individuals are motivated to fulfill specific needs (Winston, 2016). To outline these needs he created a hierarchy of needs that proceeds upward in order of what human beings require to live a full life (Winston, 2016). The first of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs being physiological needs, or the most basic, including bodily functions such as eating, drinking and reproducing (Harrigan & Commons, 2015).
...helter, food, clothing, and fuel for survival. The Market Revolution in the 19th century changed the mindset of copious individuals about their essential needs. With new innovations that make goods cheaper and easily obtainable, people's greed for more possessions grew. However, the incessant growth of one's desires make the individual a "slave" of their desires because they devote their time in earning money to acquire more, thus losing their freedom. Henry David Thoreau agreed that people enslaved themselves to materialistic possessions and often they forget the genuine meaning of living. Faced with the choice of increasing one’s ability to acquire more goods and decreasing one’s needs, Thoreau believed that minimizing one’s desire will lead to favorable account as individuals gain the chance to enjoy the meaning of life and welcome what nature provide them with.
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
Cimino, Richard, & Lattin, Don. (1997). Shopping for faith: american religion in the new millennium. San Franciso, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.
Materialism leads people to be financially irresponsible. People are more likely to buy certain products because
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs arranges basic human needs in the order in which people strive to fulfill them. Physiological needs, basic human needs, are the first necessity on Maslow’s hierarchy that people attempt to fulfill. Thankfully, I am able to say that all my physiological needs are met, for I am blessed with an abundant supply of food, water, shelter, and clothing. I cannot imagine what it must be like for people to live without having their physiological needs met, but I do understand that it has to be extremely difficult for people to focus on any other needs when they are living without the essentials of survival.
We live in a materialistic culture that thrives on having "things." Yes, we must have things in order to live (shelter, food, water, etc.), but the word is misused. Our culture has become so materialistic that we forget what is really important. The "have" mode has almost become the norm, especially with our generation. Even though we subconsciously practice the mode of “being,” many people do not realize it which makes it difficult to appreciate life and all the aspects of “being.” “Because the society we live in is devoted to acquiring property and making a profit, we rarely see any evidence of the being mode of existence and most people see the having mode as the most natural mode of existence, even the only acceptable way of life” (Fromm 25). Majority of people want to be as successful and rich as possible that this idea takes over their mind and eventually lives. Every young person is obsessed with “fitting in” and having the latest and greatest items. This attitude causes adolescents to lose sight of what is important and lose touch with their emotions. Our culture needs to begin to think less about material items and being rich and more about his/her emotions and what it means to be truly happy. It is important to focus on the “bigger picture” and how one must become the best person he/she can be to benefit
Money can’t buy happiness. Or can it? In the modern society that we live in nowadays, the theory of consumerism and a person’s happiness, or quality of life, are inseparable, especially in Canada. So much that consumerism seems to be dominating every aspect of our Canadian lifestyle, even the aspects that weren’t by the slightest amount affected by the behavior of consumers ten years ago. Consumerism is a theory that greatly contributes to the enriched quality of life that Canadians enjoy. This economic theory allows for consumer behavior to be central to economic decision-making, higher employment rates to be established, and to initiate a significant increase in globalization.
Abraham Maslow originally developed his influential hierarchy of needs to understand personal growth and help people attain spiritual “peak experiences.”. The structure of the pyramid is fixed so that we must attain a certain level before we activate a need for the next, higher one. (McLeod, 2016) At the bottom of the pyramid is physiological needs which includes water, sleep, and food. When they are not fulfilled, people become preoccupied with filling those needs above all else. For example, starving people in a war zone can be oblivious to danger when in search of food Next, you have the need for safety which includes shelter, protection, and security. While safety needs are less immediate or demanding than the physiological needs, when one loses one's job, family, home, life savings, health insurance, etc, one is likely to feel terribly insecure and
The first need theory is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory. Grensing-Pophal (2002) stated that Maslow developed five levels that describe the needs of a person. The first level is physiological comforts. These are the basic survival needs of a person, such as food, water and shelter. The second level is safety needs. Ramlall (2004) further described these safety needs in three areas: economic (such as wages and benefits), psychological (such as work stability), and physical (such as physical work environment and breaks). The third level is social fulfillment needs (Grensing-Pophal 2002). These needs deal with friendship and interacting with other people. The fourth level is satisfaction of the ego. These needs focus on being respected, self-esteem, and recognition. The final le...
Sometimes people tend to neglect their needs because of their wants, an example is people buying the new electronics instead of paying the bills thus choosing something materialistic instead of fulfilling their basic needs and necessities. Those whom are in dire financial straits are the most vulnerable and risk falling into the feeling of needing to prove they have money. People would gladly spend their money during the holiday seasons putting presents under the tree no matter how much they spend and how that may cause the family to go into owing money. Patrice Washington states in her book, “Real Money Answers for Every Woman: How to Win the Money Game With or Without a Man," that, “buying something you don 't need is never better than saving money for your actual needs,” she backs up this statement with the idea that “when you 're on a weight loss diet, is it really wise to walk through food courts scouting out samples of fresh baked cinnamon rolls and greasy pizza?” meaning that your wants will never be greater than your needs so why go out shopping and tempt yourself? Do not focus on the new shoes or car but put that money into bettering yourself and helping you clear up the financial hole you may find yourself falling