Materialism and Conspicuous Consumption
Channel: Daily Insight
Date: 2017-06-16

Materialism is the desire of some individuals to acquire and consume excessive amounts of material goods. Conspicuous consumption is a similar concept except the goal is to show off one’s wealth in an overt way. Materialism and conspicuous consumption often go hand in hand. That is, somebody who likes buying lots of expensive goods often enjoys publicly displaying those goods. Reasons for Materialism and Displays of Wealth: Capitalism; Social Status; Self-worth; Aggressive Ostentation (a form of antisocial behaviour that occurs as a result of people feeling like they have become anonymous within their societies); Happiness (although most of us probably know that happiness gained from buying stuff is fleeting). Downside of Materialism: Income Inequality; Zero-sum Game (when a person buys something to try to increase their social status, they in turn reduce the social status of other people around them); and Low Self-esteem. We should be striving for a society that teaches our children to help one another. Instead of teaching them that material wealth is good, we should be showing them how to share and care for one another.

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#materialism #greed #capitalism