Sidi-not so saintlY

It’s a material world, and it shouldn’t be 

“Materialism is a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values” 

Thinking about acquisition, provides momentary happiness boosts to materialistic people, who tend to think about acquisition a lot, therefore they have frequent mood boosts, however these boosts are short lived. 

Materialism is a trait that can afflict both rich and poor, and which some researchers define as “a value system that is preoccupied with possessions and the social image they project”, which is both socially destructive and self-destructive. Can the rise of materialism solely be put down to individual traits though? 

In the times, we live in, every aspect of our daily life encourages us to consume, acquire and purchase in excess of our needs. We value ourselves and our accomplishments based on the material/ monitory value they bring to our lives. 

How much do you earn? What area do you live in? How big/expensive is your house? What car you drive? Do you have the latest gadgets? What handbag and makeup do you own? Are all questions we ask each other directly or indirectly all the time. More importantly we even ask ourselves these questions. The answers to these questions help us to place people in categories of importance or envy. But perhaps more detrimentally the answers to these questions we ask ourselves determine our self-esteem and self-worth. 

Buddhism teaches, desires are inexhaustible. The satisfaction of one desire just creates new desires, like a cell multiplying. 

Therefore, human desire is infinite; and it is this which feeds the beliefs of perpetual growth and expansion of industrial society. Therefore, if our self-worth is determined by this insatiable aspiration for material gain where might this leave us? In a cycle of everlasting consuming beyond our needs that’s where. 

In the developed world, this is a time of excess, indulgence, luxury lifestyle, the rich and the super-rich. The dominant religion of our times is material possessions and we are all guilty of worshiping at its alter in some form. We as society and the developed world have intentionally been steered to these circumstances; with the rise of capitalism, advertisement, and productions changing from agricultural to industrial the writing has been on the wall for a long time. However, it has manifested in far more sinister and detrimental ways affecting the very fabric of our communities, health and personalities. 

This era was even predicted by many social observers/writers/commentators/psychologist/sociologists.  Jeremy Seabrook has been commenting and writing on this issues for decades; in the Seventies, he predicted that the desolation of our once-great industrial cities would mean the emergence of ‘ruined communities’, stripped of their dignity and left helplessly dependent on the idle fantasies of mass consumerism. Thirty years later we are precisely where he foresaw. 

So, we live in communities that are “ruined”, but surly there is evidence to suggest all this materialism and “prosperity” is making us happier in ourselves? Well no its not!

Many studies by psychologists have found no correlation between wealth and happiness; with the exception of people living in real abject poverty. In these instances, money, and material benefit relieves suffrage. However once fundamental sustenance/needs are met, then level of income makes little difference to level of happiness. In fact, there is evidence to show that the wealthier we get the unhappier we become. 

A study from Tufts University explains; in a sample of people ranging from wealthy to poor, from teenagers to the elderly, and from Australians to South Koreans. Several investigators have reported similar results using a variety of ways of measuring materialism. The studies document that strong materialist values are associated with pervasive undermining of people’s well-being, from low life satisfaction to happiness, to depression and anxiety, to physical problems such as headaches, and to personality disorders, narcissistic, and antisocial behaviours. Other research that extremely rich people such as billionaires are not significantly happier than people with an average income, and suffer from higher levels of depression. Researchers in positive psychology have concluded that true well-being does not come from wealth but from other factors such as good relationships, meaningful and challenging jobs or hobbies, and a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves (such as a religion, a political or social cause, or a sense of mission).

Ok so the rich and super are unhappy, and all their material gain isn’t making them any happier that should make the rest of “normal” people feel, better right? We should see the illusion for what it is? But we don’t the fact is the working class and even middle class still strive for wealth despite the knowledge that may not bring them happiness. So why is this? Because our fundamental societal value is based on capitalism, wealth, second we would all rather be unhappy in a mansion eating caviar than in a council house eating baked beans.

Perhaps it’s not even about the accumulation of material goods and perceiving them as paramount in importance, it is often the excess, the indulgence and the shear vulgarity of gluttony that’s not only most detrimental but offensive. It’s the encumbered competition of who has the most, the unfathomable and the unattainable; perfect examples of this are The Kardashians, DJ Khalid and many other, celebrates social media influencer. 

We are all guilty of equating our material possessions to quality of life and happiness. And surly the endeavours for our desire for material gain is to promote positive emotions, and better physical circumstances for us/and loved ones. However, the overriding fact is these material gains are not in fact making us or our loved ones happier. It’s also not making us any healthier or more fulfilled yet it is still all we strive for. Why? Because our environments breed this thinking. With the rich, super-rich, some impostors, and those heavily in debt, parading their opulent lifestyle constantly in our social media feeds it’s easy to not only want to aspire to attain their lives but become insecure about our own realities. And no matter how much we try to complete or reinforce our ego, our inner discontent and incompleteness always re-emerges, generating new desires. No matter how much we get, it’s never enough.

Materialism and its counterpart capitalism thrive when people compare themselves to those wealthier than them; the power of these ideologies evaporates when you compare yourself with those who are truly poor. This is also part of the cure to the vicious cycle of materialism; acknowledging and appreciating our circumstances. 

The phenomena materialism is embedded deep in our social fabric and it’s not leaving any time some. But the fact is it will never leave us feeling complete or fulfilled, it won’t ever replace human contact, relationships or feed our spirituality. 

(Writers note: In an attempt to address these materialism traits in my personal life I have decided to take a career break from my day job. I will write about this in my next post.)