| json_metadata | "{"app":"Musing","appTags":["Life"],"appCategory":"Life","appTitle":"What makes some people to be materialistic?","appBody":"<p>Materialism is such a funny word. It might not appear this way at first, of course, but when you look the word up you'll find out that it actually has a couple meanings. </p><p>In its basic form and its commonplace use, which I'll assume you're talking about, it may mean, according to the Oxford Dictionary, \" a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values.\"</p><p>And example is in its use in the sentence: \"they hated the sinful materialism of the wicked city\"</p><p>Another meaning, however, and a more interesting one, in my opinion, is the philosophical meaning of materialism, which is one the basic tenets of Hegelian philosophy, most especially his Dialectics, expanded and examined more thoroughly by Friedrich Engels: this defines materialism as the belief that the world is solely made up and influenced by matter and its movements and modifications ALONE. That is all other things that can be considered abstract or metaphysical simply do not exist, or at best are merely by-products of the modifications of matter.</p><p>I'll assume though that the question deals with materialism in the first sense of the word, that is to say that you're asking what makes some people \"consider material possession and physical comfort more important than spiritual values\"? Or \"what causes in people the excessive love for material things over the care of their inner spirits\"? Then I'll start by saying: </p><p>1. The Erroneous Belief that Possesion Equals Happiness: </p><p>A lot of people have this belief. They belief that the more material possession they have the happier they'll be. And of course this couldn't be more wrong. It's sad that I'm on mobile and I can't attach pictures otherwise I would have included a nice illustration I have of a man standing over a pile of money and cars and clothes and all other material things, all in tatters and in a ruble, and he stands there he's oblivious to the fact that all his possession are in ruins. He's wondering to himself, \"what else do I need to be happy?\"</p><p>And that is the way with being obsessed with materialistic achievements, is that you keep thinking that with the next possession you become happy, and of course you might be happy for second in fact you might be happy for more than a second but you find out that as time goes on that your happiness that you gain from those material things diminishes and in no time you start looking forward to the next thing and then the next thing, till it goes on and on and on and on in that cycle until you realise that real happiness doesn't come from acquiring these things and the number of material possession that you have isn't necessarily proportional to your happiness;</p><p>That the things that can bring you real and lasting happiness are the simple things of life, and may not even be materialistic. Sadly, though, most people never understand this all their lives.</p><p>2. Addiction: </p><p>The thing about material possession is they're highly addictive. It's too easy to always want more. Because thats the nature with which they're configured. To never be enough in themselves. To always be a sort of gateway into another possession.</p><p>So what makes some people materialistic? Because they're addicted to it. Sometimes in the past they mau have gotten their first taste of the sweetness of materialism, and then gone back for more, and then more and more until now they just can't help it.</p><p>3. Succumbing to Mass Capitalism. </p><p>It is no secret that in a capitalist system what most organizations are after is that most people become materialists. Inveterate consumers. They want us to buy and buy and buy and keep buying until we're all out of money! This is the way they make their profits.</p><p>Which is why everywhere yoy go nowadays there is always an advertisement or the other here and there telling you to buy this and buy that and \"milk it does the body good\" and \"just do it!\" Without thinking of the consequence just do it; get this get that. </p><p>And you find that if you're not especially someone with a really good constitution you find yourself succumbing to the trance these advertisements place on you. You may find yourself using all your life savings to buy an iPhone! I would know I did that! Lol.</p><p>4 Past Experience: </p><p>Lastly one's past experience may also determine if one become materialistic or not. For example it can go in two ways. 1. a person who has been exposed to a life of hardship and then finally gets a job that pays well and start making money, the first thing that is on his mind is to get all those things that has eluded him since thinking that is the way to happiness and then he starts to get this and that and keeps doing it. </p><p>2 a person who has been exposed to a life of opulence. This can also be terrible because you know right from when your little your parents buy you stuffs, all the latest toys and then you grow up in you also start buying things just because you can, and instead of going for the cheap things you keep going for the most expensive one and so on and so on.</p><p>Cheers!</p>","appDepth":2,"appParentPermlink":"f3juyg6n8x","appParentAuthor":"iscobet9ja","musingAppId":"aU2p3C3a8N","musingAppVersion":"1.1","musingPostType":"answer"}" |
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