A very good Online Journal article

June 17, 2006

Materialism, a deepening shadow

There are many ways to get detoured off the high path of life. Bad

investments, bad marriages, the wrong occupation will all do the trick, and

they all begin with legitimate-looking diversions. Whole societies can get

detoured, trapped into crippling wars or imprisoned within their own borders

by charismatic dictators. All start as sensible-looking ventures and on the

way, nobody guesses destiny.

Our exorbitant materialism is a loss of the way. We did not come to a point

of ownership-obsession overnight, nor did it descend one day like a

sun-darkening cloud of locusts; it is a coloring that has been gathering

slowly within. In 1966, when college freshmen were surveyed about what they

were going to do with their lives, 44 percent said it was important or

essential to become well off financially, but by 1996 that had risen to 73

percent. Conversely, back in 1966 a full 83 percent said it was important to

develop a philosophy of life, but by1996 that had dropped to 42 percent [1].

On a graph, the ascending line crosses the declining line in a stark X; it

is clear one motivation has displaced the other. Nowadays, it is rare to

hear about a philosophy of life; money and property have become our main

attention. We believe we are what we own.

Where is materialism taking us? Does money make us happy? Actually,

Bentham led us astray when he stated that money is the most accurate measure

of pleasure. Recently a collection of studies has revealed that in fact rich

people are not happier, and that adding wealth to your life does not

increase your sense of well being (unless you live below the poverty line)

[2]. Moreover rich nations are not always healthier: the recent discovery is

that people in egalitarian nations live longer than people in richer nations

that are hierarchical [3]. But people think money will make them happier,

and that’s what motivates them.

....

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