Materialism
Money is god

For American self-definitions, materialism - as an attitude toward life focusing primarily, if not exclusively, on
material rather than on spiritual values - became a major issue in the wake of an ever accelerating
industrialization after the Civil War.
Americans have increasingly theorized that money is the definition of "the good life," according to Roper pollsters.
In 1975, 38 percent of Americans said that "a lot of money" would comprise the good life,
while 63 percent said the same in 1996. This paralleled the responses of incoming collegians between the 1970s and 1990s, who went from valuing developing a
"meaningful philosophy of life" to overwhelmingly (75 percent) favoring
"making a lot of money" as their top-rated value.

America has an economic system set up to create the kind of mess we've seen recently. Our form of
capitalism encourages materialistic values,
and the research shows that people high on materialism ... are more likely to engage in
unethical business behaviors and
manipulate people for their own purposes.
The problem of money-making was not only that it favored earthly delights over divine obligations.
It also enflamed the tendency to prefer our own needs over those of the people around us and, more worrisome still,
to recklessly trade their best interests for our own base satisfaction. ... it serves the
desire for profit which knows no limit.

Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life,
that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction and our ego satisfaction in consumption.
We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded at an ever-increasing rate.
With the rise of materialism comes the decline of morality.
Materialism is the excessive desire to acquire and consume material goods.
Materialism is the religion of this world. In a materialistic world money is god.
Greed has become the norm.
Consumerism is imposed on the people by the
power elite — who depend on the
profit made with their business — by means of for example
mass media
propaganda. The
power elite are masters in maximizing profit for their
corporations as is evidenced by for example
planned obsolescence. See also
Jevons paradox.
American Dream

One of the major changes in the last century has been the rise of the consumer. But this isn't something that just happened — the
consumer was created, and the way it happened is an important lesson in engaging people on sustainable business.
The key figure in this story is Edward Bernays.
The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who
manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an
invisible government which is the true
ruling power of our country. We are governed, our
minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams
but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.
The American Dream is another so-called
big lie of the establishment in order to
deceive the
masses.
Edward Bernays is the father of American
propaganda who played a major role in turning people into consumers for the
corporate elite.
Depression

The positive effect of both materialism as well as greed on subjective well-being might be short term.
It is suggested that on long term materialistic and greedy people experience lower levels of subjective well-being or which doesn't lead to an increase in happiness.
Materialism is negatively associated with life satisfaction.
Major depression is the No.1 psychological disorder in the western world.
Economic inequality is rising as the rich get richer and the rest suffers the consequences.
Greed has become the norm and psychopaths are its masters. The
Dalai Lama said that
"We have a largely materialistic lifestyle characterized by a materialistic culture. However, this only provides us with temporary, sensory satisfaction,
whereas long-term satisfaction is based not on the senses but on the mind". But the fanatic and narrow-minded
materialists even believe the
human mind is materially based. A most destructive belief and
vicious cycle.
Madeline Levine - The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage...
Tim Kasser - The High Price of Materialism
Benjamin R. Barber - Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults...
Juliet B. Schor - Born to Buy, The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture
Juliet B. Schor - The Overspent American, Why We Want What We Don't Need
Eric Schlosser - Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
Suniya S. Luthar - The Problem With Rich Kids
Zan Boag interviews Tim Kasser - Living in a material world
Teresa Amabile - How to Kill Creativity
Global Issues - Children as Consumers
Activist Post - The American Dream, Brought to You by Edward Bernays
Tim Kasser - The High Price of Materialism
Benjamin R. Barber - Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults...
Juliet B. Schor - Born to Buy, The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture
Juliet B. Schor - The Overspent American, Why We Want What We Don't Need
Eric Schlosser - Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
Suniya S. Luthar - The Problem With Rich Kids
Zan Boag interviews Tim Kasser - Living in a material world
Teresa Amabile - How to Kill Creativity
Global Issues - Children as Consumers
Activist Post - The American Dream, Brought to You by Edward Bernays