Repercussions of Materialism

Repercussions of Materialism

Materialism and the want of consumer goods, has proved to be a prevalent force in the last century. When superficially thinking about materialism, one would not immediately register that there is a relationship between materialism and ethics; although, under examination, we can see that there is indeed a great association between the two. Are materialism and the obsessive consumer culture we have made for ourselves ethical? People’s opinion on this question can be polar opposites. Some people believe that materialism has great benefits for the technological and economic growth, while others argue that materialism strips people of their individuality and creates unethical division between the rich and the poor. It’s very easy to understand why someone would chose to live a life full of materialism as there is a lot of luxuries, lavishes and comfort. However, looking at it deeper, consumers have now become victims of this never ending cycle of materialism where they always want the newest and latest goods. Also, people who cannot afford to pay for these products try and find illegal and immoral ways to gain wealth so they can be accepted in society. So, although materialism promotes technology and modernity, excessive amounts of it creates a division between social classes, which causes poor people to act unethically in order to live up to the materialistic standards society has created.

The goal of a materialistic life style is to be on the top of the social hierarchy, to be recognized as the most powerful and to be able to flaunt the greatest amount of luxuries. Without consciously realizing it most of us judge others on their status and position in society. This means, that we are internally programmed to look at people based on the amount of materialistic goods they have. This is one of the main reasons why people who can not afford to live up to the materialistic standards set by the privileged, have to resort to unethical means to be able to hold a respectable place in society. There are several unethical methods that poor people can use to gain wealth such as bootlegging (smuggling, sale or transport of illegal goods), pirating, trafficking and counterfeit

A great example of someone using illegal methods to gain wealth comes from a famous novel in literature called ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This book is set in the 1920’s which was known as the ‘Jazz Age’. This phase followed the shock and chaos of World War 1, where people in American society enjoyed a great rise in wealth as the economy escalated. The prohibition of the sale of alcohol led to a lot of bootlegging and crime was tempting as it was an easy alternative. Fitzgerald commented on the lack of morality in the society, and the great amount of materialism that was happening in the Jazz Age. The main character, Jay Gatsby uses illegal means such as the bootlegging of alcohol to gain wealth, and therefore achieved a higher class in society. Gatsby feels gaining a status is the only way he will get back the love of his life who is married to a man very high in the social hierarchy. Gatsby thinks that only if he comes back with a luxurious house, a grandiose car and throws flamboyant parties, will people associate themselves with him. This example highlights my thesis, because Gatsby probably cheated and lied to several people to gain his wealth which is unethical, and the only reason he did it is to get approval from the materialistic society he is so desperate to be part of. The end of the book is very ironic to what Gatsby expects, because he thought he was part of the society and made a lot of friends as people would be nice to him to get invited to his grand parties, but at the end of the book, when he dies no one turns up to his funeral which proves that materialistic people are extremely superficial.

Materialism can be viewed as a never ending cycle where once you fall victim to the consumer culture, it is practically impossible to detach yourself from it. I can say this with personal experience, since I live in a culture where materialism and superficiality surrounds you. Even though I disagree with the reasons behind excessive materialism, I fall victim to this cycle too because I have become obsessed with wanting to buy the latest luxury businesses have to offer. Companies are very aware of this cycle, and use the ‘victims’ of materialism as their target audiences to advertise their products to; consumer has now come to be a derogatory term within businesses. Firms constantly advertise new models of products, and mindless consumers who are targets of this cycle obsessively buy and purchase the goods, thinking this will help them gain recognition in society. The constant media influence of advertising products is another reason the underprivileged people feel pressured to live up to the standards that society