Economic materialism

This article addresses materialism in the economic sense of the word. For information on the philosophical and scientific meanings, see materialism.

Materialism refers to how a person or group chooses to spend their resources, particularly money and time. Literally, a materialist is a person for whom collecting material goods is an important priority. In common use, the word more specifically refers to a person who primarily pursues wealth and luxury. Sometimes such a person displays conspicuous consumption.

Many believe that a "considered" and "realistic" form of materialism leads to economic behaviors supporting a sustainable community. For example, recycling, thrift shops, garage sales, and the like are materialistic in that they show respect for real resources, rather than just throwing them out. One initiative to slow the growth of landfills is container deposit legislation. And on the human side, a person, in spirit, cannot own his possessions or tools; an attitude of stewardship toward them engenders conditions for mental health.

Opposition

Opposition to economic materialism comes from many sources including religion, environmentalism and social activism. Many religions oppose materialism because of the belief that it interferes with spirituality and the divine, or that it leads to an immoral lifestyle. Some social activists believe that materialism is often a source of societal ills such as war, crime, poverty, oppression and genocide. A main concern is that materialism is unable to offer a proper raison d'être for human existence. Supporters of environmentalism understand that increasing materialism is unsustainable, especially when coupled with population growth, and most often leads to an increased destruction of nature.

Intellectuals in the east often view excessive materialism as an inherent part of Western culture. For example, Indo-American author A.K. Ramanujan in his "Conventions of Despair" contrasts the materialism of the west with the east's excessive stress on life after death.

“Young people see artifacts as providing a means of expressing individual and group identities” (Taylor, 2000, 3).

“They are the ones most susceptible to advertising and promotion and most interested in new products” (Goldberg, 2003, 285). (See neophilia.)

See also

• Adverse selection
• Consumerism
• Cultural Creatives
• Capitalism
• Gambling
• Geoffrey Miller (evolutionary psychologist)
• Peace War Game - not a wargame, as such, rather a simulation of economic decisions underlying war.
• Post-materialism
• Tim Kasser
• Traditionalist School - A radically anti-"economistic", anti-materialist philosophical movement developed by Rene Guenon and Julius Evola
• Material feminism

External links

• Materialistic Spiritualism
• Fifty Possible Ways to Challenge Over-Commercialism by Albert J. Fritsch, SJ, PhD