Materialism is a form of philosophical monism that holds that matter is the fundamental

substance in nature, and that all things, including mental states and consciousness, are
results of material interactions.

The definition of materialism is the philosophy that everything can be explained in

terms of matter, or the idea that goods and wealth are the most important things.
An example of materialism is explaining love in terms of material things. An example
of materialism is valuing a new car over friendships.

Every day, Americans are boombarded with messages suggesting that the good life is
attainable through the good life by making lots of money and spending it on products
that claim to make us happy, loved and esteemed.

On the news shows, We hear a near constant refrain from economists and politicians
about the importance of consumer spending and economic growth. Around 120 billion
dollars are spend most years to embed consumer messages in every conceivable
space from TV shows and websites.

Both commercialization and consumerism also reach deeper worming their way intop
people’s psyche and encouraging them to organize their lives around higher salaries
and owning more stuff. Research consistently shows that the more that people value
materialistic aspirations and goals, the lower their happiness and life satisfaction.
Depresion, anxiety and higher substance abuse also tend to be higher among people
who value the aims encouraged by consumer society.

Scientist have found that materialistic values and pro social values are like a seesaw.
As being materialistic goes up, being social also went down. This helps explains why
people act in less empathic, generous, and cooperative ways when money is on their
mind. Clearly, if we hope to just have a happier, more socially just, and more
ecologically sustainable world, then we need to develop ways to dimenish the power of
materialistic values in our personal lives and in society.

Two basic principles for change can help frame the way forward. First we need to
understand what causes people to prioritize materialistic values. For instance, studies
show that people focus more on material things when they are insecure. Consider a
new coping stra

There is a shadow in these photos – photos of a young man wearing all four of his
Rolex watches, a youth posing in front of his helicopter, endless pictures of cars, yachts,
shoes, mansions, swimming pools and spoilt white boys throwing gangster poses in
private jets – of something worse: something that, after you have seen a few dozen,
becomes disorienting, even distressing.
The pictures are, of course, intended to incite envy. They reek instead of desperation.

But an impressive body of psychological research seems to support these feelings. It

suggests that materialism, a trait that can afflict both rich and poor, and which the
researchers define as "a value system that is preoccupied with possessions and the
social image they project", is both socially destructive and self-destructive. It smashes
the happiness and peace of mind of those who succumb to it. It's associated with
anxiety, depression and broken relationships. There has long been a correlation
observed between materialism, a lack of empathy and engagement with others, and
unhappiness.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons an economic model based on perpetual growth
continues on its own terms to succeed, though it may leave a trail of unpayable debts,
mental illness and smashed relationships. Social atomisation may be the best sales
strategy ever devised, and continuous marketing looks like an unbeatable programme
for atomisation.

Materialism forces us into comparison with the possessions of others, a race both
cruelly illustrated and crudely propelled by that toxic website. There is no end to it. If you
have four Rolexes while another has five, you are a Rolex short of contentment. The
material pursuit of self-esteem reduces your self-esteem.

I should emphasise that this is not about differences between rich and poor: the poor
can be as susceptible to materialism as the rich. It is a general social affliction, visited
upon us by government policy, corporate strategy, the collapse of communities and civic
life, and our acquiescence in a system that is eating us from the inside out.

This is the dreadful mistake we are making: allowing ourselves to believe that having
more money and more stuff enhances our wellbeing, a belief possessed not only by
those poor deluded people in the pictures, but by almost every member of almost every
government. Worldly ambition, material aspiration, perpetual growth: these are a
formula for mass unhappiness.

To fix this problem is a very challenging one because it is a mindset and also a way of
life. If we look around us, many aspects of our culture revolve around the importance of
owning things. Advertising is the most well known example of this as discussed in a
previous post. The solution lies in changing our actions since our surroundings are most
likely to stay as they are unless we facilitate change.

In our culture, materialism exists to fill a void. This void is different for different people.
For some it could be unhappiness, for others it could be stress. One way to start to
change our mindset is to fill this void with actions other than shopping. For some
people, this void could be filled with finding an enjoyable hobby to perhaps relieve
stress or find happiness. Another way would be to do something to help others. Doing
something selfless will fill the void of unhappiness and have the opposite effects of
materialism. Shifting your focus more to helping others can change one’s attitude about
materialistic tendencies. Also, volunteering puts one’s life in perspective. We all say we
know we are privileged and we are lucky for the things and people we have in our lives
but until we see what it is like to not be privileged is only when our attitudes will change.

Another way to start to change our attitudes is to become media literate. Since
advertising is the major creator of this mindset, a useful tool would be to know what the
purpose of ads are and how they are conveyed. Being able to analyze ads we see on a
daily basis will make us aware of the manipulation of an advertisement rather than
succumbing to it. I took a media literacy class in high school and ever since, I have
never looked at an advertisement the same way since. An education in the various
techniques of manipulation in all media outlets would be very useful to the American
public.

We need to start to separate ourselves from the things we own. Our society as a whole
needs to judge people on their actions rather than their possessions. Ownership was
just something set up a long time ago to maintain a hierarchy and order, but this had no
actual meaning. If we start to celebrate actions instead of possessions, people will strive
to have a positive impact in the world by ways of their actions instead of striving for
meaningless possessions.

Personally, I believe the major problem with our society, especially with the youth, is we
are too worried about how we come off to others instead of doing what makes us happy.
I believe this mindset is what drives the mass consumerism of our culture. Americans
need to ask themselves “What do you want to leave behind?” The sooner we realize
that it is experiences we take with us and impressions we leave behind, the sooner, I
believe, we will stop caring what other people think and focus on how we are living our
lives and the impacts we make on others. These impacts will be made by our actions,
not our possessions.