Materialism: How Justified Is Its Observance in Today’s Time?

Materialism is all about having an excessive desire (read greed) for money and possessions. It is said that today’s society is materialistic, but then, when it wasn’t? Every era—be it relates to the time when possessing a car was a luxury or, the time when flashing a mobile phone was purely a privilege of super-rich—had something to offer, an enjoyment of which was beyond the imagination of many of us. But as time went by, most of us were able to own and use such possessions—all because of our desire, hard work and perseverance.

Although the basic tenet of materialism remains same everywhere, its meaning cannot be restrained to a few words. Different people, depending upon their ideologies, observations and social upbringing, may perceive it differently. For instance, some parents may perceive giving of pocket money to their children from an early age as a means to propagate the sense of materialism into them, and hence may altogether deprive them of this privilege. On the other hand, others may start giving pocket money to their kids from an early age in order to hold their attention and educate them about money while their mind is still free from any kind of external conditioning.

Possessing more than what is required is being materialistic, and requirements differ from people to people. A common man may do well with one house, but the same scenario may not apply to a famed actor who may have a long list of guests visiting him on a daily basis. 

One serious question which needs a mention here is, “Can one relieve himself of his worldly duties if he has succeeded in gaining sufficient means for his survival?” The answer is no, because had this been the case, all of us had, at one point or the other, stopped working and become functionally redundant. In this way we would have deprived our upcoming generations of our experiences and achievements, and might also have failed to inspire them to strive, excel and achieve more in their lives.

Acquiring possessions and spending money is a vital source of meaning and happiness in our time. But as has been said, excess of everything is bad, excessive greed often becomes the source of our unhappiness. In fact, unnecessary greed and longing for one thing after another has been the prime cause behind our unhappiness. It is our never ending greed only which makes our happiness quotient change every time. Our greed reinforces our false belief that happiness is just a ‘thing’ away, which we never arrive at. And even if we somehow manage to arrive at it, we replace it with something other every time, thus finding ourselves trapped forever into the vicious cycle of greed.

Is materialism per se wrong?

Materialism per se is not wrong, after all it encourages us to better ourselves and reap the benefits that modern society has for us to offer. But at the same time, we should be watchful of our weakness for materialistic things, for we might be unknowingly breeding the seeds of greed inside us. Remember, more is not always the better, but knowing that we have enough is. Control your greed and you will be in true control of your life.

                 

The End