The High Price of Materialism
In American Culture today, the extreme emphasis and competitive drive toward the abundance of consumerism and materialism rules our society as a whole. Stepping back from our wants, our needs are much different then what we are striving for. In Tim Kasser’s eye opening book, The High Price of Materialism, the author takes a scientific and very modern approach to this world wide epidemic that is costing people their happiness. Kasser explains how people who value and put priority on materialism often have a greater risk of being unhappy and acquiring psychological problems such as depression or anxiety. These accumulations of wealth and often petty desires have an effect on our internal well being. With this, Tim Kasser explains the problem and correlation between materialism and our own well-being, while offering an answer to the change needed within our society, our country, and an insane, indulged culture. As I look around my community I see good people, a small town with much to offer. As I look into my own life, I see a good person with much to offer. My community, my family, and my nation I look at in a positive light. However, with that said, we lack a major fundamental reasoning skill. This skill is the ability to prioritize and acknowledge what is most important and vital for the survival and psychological health of the human species. In my everyday life, like a typical female in American society currently, I love to shop, a harmless activity. Gazing further, however, I have come to realize I need to take a moment and fully understand what empty space I am filling with my materialistic wants. These are not needs I understand, but somehow, for a quick moment, having a new purse or dress makes me happy. Why is this so? I wanted to understand not only my desires as a human being, but America’s and most of the world’s desire for needless possessions. These possessions are excess and waste. They are not basic food, shelter, or warm clothing. Fashion is at an