Materialism In America

The economy is a very fragile thing; however it can have an enormous impact on people. Americans especially are affected because they are so greedy, they always want more. Because Americans are very materialistic, they can become overly arrogant and possessive since they are used to getting their way, on account of having money.

Only a couple of decades ago, hard work and determination guided people to obtain a piece of the opportunity America is all about. Lately there is a surge in having our fifteen minutes of fame and work less, buy more. There are Americans who feel that materialism is the way to obtain true American happiness. TV ads bombard the population with information on what is truly needed to be the best. All media outlets convey how to be more like the famous. Commercials inform on how this star uses this phone and this athlete buys this car. In trying to assimilate to others, some continue to spend even though they cannot afford it. In “Framing Class, Vicarious Living,

In the introduction of Chapter 1 “Consuming Passions” “The Culture of American Consumption,” it talks about how American popular culture is grounded in consumption. With the media in our hand, it is a huge influence towards the advertising world. With how styles of clothing have been changing over time, this talks about how from the earlier times wearing a simple type of blue jeans can change between who wears them over the years. As stated, “ By the 1950s, however, blue jeans began to bear an additional class significance as “casual wear” for middle-class Americans.” (72). In 1970 these pants have then become a simple fashion wear. They have also been introduced as a hipster type wear. Then in 1980 through the early 2000s, baggy jeans were

The American Dream has held a special place in the hearts of patriots since the very founding of America in 1776. It has been a subject of many authors who grapple with its attainability, and is a beacon of hope gazed upon by victims of circumstance. The Dream has been interpreted by great minds in various ways, and has been deemed both an evil deception and a great promise of a better life. However, the American Dream has morphed from this promise of opportunities and second chances--in fact, it has become viewed as a cause for societal competition and the reason for decreasing happiness among the American people. As Americans attempt to “achieve their goals,” and “keep up with the Joneses,” they subject themselves to the materialistic cycle of greed. Success, and the goal of the American Dream, has been redefined. To be put simply, the American Dream is now to be richer than one’s neighbor, despite the fact that happiness--and thus, the Dream--cannot be achieved solely through wealth and material goods.

Everyone in this modern society is obsessed with having the best of the best items and technology. The world economy consists of billions of transactions every day (Etzioni, 2012). In this society, three-fourths of those transactions are on things people do not need but desperately want just to fit in. These points were put very acutely when Etzioni said, “But when one attempts to satisfy these higher needs through the simple acquisition of goods and services, consumption turns into consumerism — and consumerism becomes a social disease” (Etzioni, 2012).

Brennan Manning’s says that Americans measure success by one’s pile of possessions. Manning talks about a few articles that he read and he found out that the majority of Americans are fat, exhausted, frustrated, lustful, and dissatisfied with their level of achievement because we care about being overweight, and how to maintain a nice body, and caring a lot about all of these useless things. He states that a lot of Americans’ conversations revolve around consumption, including what we buy/bought, where/what to eat, the price of things, what’s on sale, etc. Americans show a lot of interest in this materialistic items when they won’t even matter when we die. The things that matter in our life should be non-materialistic items and that we should

This was mentioned quite a bit in the article “Living Deeply” by Janet Luhrs. She tells us not to live on autopilot, not to buy things that don’t have meaning and to live deliberately. Her example of the fact that we shouldn’t be so materialistic that stuck with me the most was, “we seem to be awfully busy here in the US. But at the end of our lives have we really achieved more than the simple farmer, and will we remember that we bought 12 pairs of pants instead of 12?” That points out the flaws of the consumerist world that we live in. Is it really better to slave away for minimum wage, just so every Friday we can buy another item that we probably won’t think about three weeks down the road? This makes me want to slow down my life and stop trying to race the clock. I want to have my own garden and my own self sustainable life so I can essentially try to have as little of a footprint on the Earth as

Affluenza is the theory that as people are able to buy more goods, their level of enjoyment from those purchases goes down (Affluenza). Since the 1950s, a trend of buying more and feeling less fulfilled as become prevalent among Americans. This has lead to a country where hyper commercialism, materialism, and the “buy now, pay later” motto have become the norm. However, despite a clear epidemic of affluenza rearing it’s head in America, recent years have shown a slow progression towards finding a cure.

I am blessed to be able to buy things I don’t need, but just desire to have. The change of the economy is still noticeable, and the consumerist culture of America has become evident to a young person like me. Restaurants, museums and theatres, give students tempting discounts, making us want to buy all of these overpriced items. Many kids associate their happiness to material items such as having the latest iPhone or possessing newest fashion items, and sadly enough, contribute to their social lives. The development of capitalism - over the past many decades - has skewed the meaning of the American Dream and has especially cheated the poorer parts of the population, and has put them in a vulnerable spot economically. To obtain the true meaning of the American Dream, citizens but fight the consumerist mindset through moderating their materialistic

Material and nonmaterial cultures differ from one location to another because people in different locations, whether they be in the United States, or in other countries place certain meanings, and ideas on different things, and have certain values, and beliefs that are specific to their culture. As locations change, so do the cultures and the values and beliefs that are present in the cultures.

Materialism, although commonly seen as a harmful characteristic, has the potential to be a beneficial one. The desire for a vast number of possessions has often been tied to the wealthy; however, both wealthy and poor alike have materialistic tendencies and thus, everyone has the potential to live unsustainably. Being materialistic is not what classifies a person as sustainable or unsustainable, it is what that person pursues with their tendencies that does so. If someone wanted to purchase a new vehicle, it would be unsustainable for them to purchase a Bentley or a G-Wagen while there are alternative, energy saving models like a Tesla or Prius. The trend that 's beginning to take hold in the United States is that the more material things that are owned, the more successful one will be perceived as. This influx in material objects is not only the wrong way to measure success, but it is also the opposite of living sustainably. Although it is the rich who are often targeted for living unsustainably, the poor also have an equal part to blame in the matter. Today, living extravagant and expensive lives is a goal sought by many, and the only way to change that goal is to redefine the definition of success into something more meaningful. Living sustainably does not mean having to remove all materialism from life, it simply means making small changes in day to day life that encourage less wasteful tendencies.

Consumerism is the center of American culture. Americans tend to confuse their wants with their needs. With new advances in technology, as well as the help of advertisers, people are provided with easy access to new products that seem essential to their everyday life, even though they have survived this long without them. People cannot live without food, clothing, and shelter. But realistically, according to people's different lifestyles, more than food, clothing, and shelter are needed. Most people need to work to survive. Unless a job is either in their own home, or within walking distance, a means of transportation is needed. Whether it be a vehicle, money for a taxi-cab, or a token for a ride on the subway, money must be spent

“They have undermined any personal responsibility by claiming that thought is dictated biologically and by environment. A materialistic society can be especially effective if it is a governmental tenet as well” according to the movie (Affluenza). The American materialism began over two hundred years ago. “Growing as the grassy weeds do among the early shoots of wheat. Just as months must pass before one can clearly see the fruitful difference between the two, so many decades of US history separate that nation’s causes of wealth from its enjoyment of it” ( Chapter 2 of what is materialism). “Materialism can take a toll on your well-being, relationships and quality of life. “Compared with their grandparents, today’s young adults have grown up with much more affluence, slightly less happiness and much greater risk of depression and assorted social pathology,” David G. Myers, author of The American Paradox” (

Idealism is the belief that the mind and ideas is the primary structure of reality and that physical or material reality is secondary. Idealists believes that everything exists in the conscious mind such as our mind, the mind of God or the mind of others. Materialism, in other hand, sees the matters as the primary reality and every other things including thoughts as the products of interactions of matter. During the class discussion, Dr. Haney mentioned his view on the “Hidden Philosophy of U.S. America” as the idealism materialism. More specifically, he indicated the U.S. struggling with “cash values” on weekdays, but “ideal value” during weekend. I, personally, strongly agree with this proposal. Many Americans nowadays has possessed with

The world is the influenced by what they see and want to be there, where the low class wants to be like the middle class and the middle class trying to look like the upper class. Today celebrities and people in upper class have influenced our sense of importance and needs, when it comes to the aspect of picking commodities. Thus, many have resulted to high and unnecessary expending in order to imitate a particular social icon. It can be ascertained that almost all average American adult being in debt might be as a result of overspending their need limit. This excessive and unnecessary spending as a result to boost our economic status has led to some drastic tragic events. A Chinese man, Tao Hsiao, 38, on the 9th of December 2013, jumped to his death in a shopping mall at China because the girlfriend would not stop shopping after several hours of shopping ( The Washington Times). “He told her she already had enough shoes, more shoes that she