Part Two -  Why does the pursuit of materialism not lead to happiness?

 One reason that wealth, status and success do not lead to happiness is that the very idea – that the pursuit of wealth, status and success could lead to happiness – is an illusion.

 Tim Kasser says’commercials often present a far rosier picture than is the case’. [1]

They do not take into account -

 1.      The Reality Of Addiction. ‘The desire for material goods is like drug addiction’.[2]  

2.      The Law of Diminishing Returns. J.Paul Getty – ‘A billion dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to.’[3]

3.      The Case Of Rising Baselines. ‘Before Silicon Graphics, (Jim) Clark, (Founder of Netscape,) said a fortune of $10 million would make him happy; before Netscape, $100 million: before Healtheon, $1 billion; now he told Lewis, “Once I have more money than Larry Ellison, I’ll be satisfied.” Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle, is worth $13 billion.’[4]

4.      The Cycle of Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction. Satisfaction is only temporary. Soon the dissatisfaction sets in again.[5] According to Clive Hamilton, ‘The advertising industry is the primary agent of (a) massive deception. The official story is that advertising helps discerning con-sumers make informed choices about how best to spend their money. We are not allowed to point out that advertising influences citizens to behave in ways that are contrary to their best interests.’[6] But ‘the promotion of gluttony – a form of overconsumption that directly affects the body’  is an obvious and very serious example of the way advertising influences citizens to behave in ways that are contrary to their best interests.[7]

Another reason that wealth, status and success do not lead to happiness is that the single most reliable universal indicator of happiness is connectedness with family and friends and, in reality, the pursuit of wealth, status and success devalues, distorts and destroys true connectedness with family and friends.[8]

There are three reasons that the pursuit of wealth, status, and success, is at the expense of healthy interpersonal relationships.

1. When we passionately pursue wealth, status, and success, we tend to devalue healthy interpersonal relationships. Ambition undermines ‘benevolence’ – a commitment to the welfare of others eg personal loyalty[9] Ambition undermines ‘universalism’ – a commitment to the welfare of all others eg social justice. [10]

4-5 year old children were shown a ten minute tv program – some with a commerc-ial for a toy, some not. Then they were shown pictures of two kids – one ‘nice’ without the toy; one ‘not so nice’ with the toy – and they were asked whether they wanted to play with these kids, or their own friends. 30% of those who had not watched the commercial wanted to play with the one who was ‘not so nice’ but had a toy, whereas 65% of those who had watched the commercial wanted to play with the one who was ‘not so nice’ but had a toy![11]

 2. When we passionately pursue wealth, status, and success, we tend to distort healthy interpersonal relationships.

Materialism leads to ‘objectification’ – turning our relationships with ‘people’ into relationships with ‘things’  Martin Buber we move from ‘I-Thou’ to ‘I-It’ relationships

Materialism leads to ‘utilization’  – using ‘people’ as we would use ‘things’, consuming them then discarding them   Aaron Ahuvia interviewing clients at a dating service said that they wanted to ‘see fresh meat on the table.’[12]  

Materialistic people tend to develop ‘instrumental friendships’ which are char-acterised by a low degree of empathy, a high degree of manipulat-ion, and a willingness to disclose truth only when it is useful.[13]  We become ‘Machiavellian’ and engage in a cynical, self-interested manipulation of others!

 3. When we passionately pursue wealth, status, and success, we tend to destroy healthy interpersonal relationships

The more materialistic we become, we all tend to become

1.      more narcissistic, obsessive, and paranoid [14]

2.      more passive-aggressive and over-controlling[15]

3.      more unlikely to be self-actualised and satisfied[16]  

4.      more likely to use/misuse/abuse substances [17]

5.      more prone to bouts of anxiety, anger and depression[18]

6.      more prone to headaches, backaches and sore muscles[19]

7.      more likely to alienate other people [20]

8.      less likely to have satisfying relationships [21]

9.      more likely to be abusive (insulting, swearing)[22]

10.  more likely to be aggressive (pushing, shoving) [23]

11.  less likely to invest in marriage, family, community [24]

12.  less likely to make healthy choices for ‘the commons’ [25]  

 Thus, while the indicators of economic health are still on the rise, the indi-cators of social health in society have trended – dangerously – downwards.[26]

 

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[1] p52 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[2] p59 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[3] p58 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[4] p43 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[5] p57 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[6] p89 Clive Hamilton Growth Fetish                      

[7] p92 Clive Hamilton Growth Fetish                      

[8] p322 Robert Putnam Bowling Alone Touchstone Books  New York 2000

[9] p65 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[10] p65 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[11] p66 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[12] p67 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[13] p69-70 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[14] p12/15 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[15] p17 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[16] p20 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[17] p12 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[18] p21 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[19] p11 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[20] p63 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[21] p62 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[22] p62 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[23] p63 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[24] p88/90 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[25] p93 Tim Kasser The High Price Of Materialism

[26] Daniel Keating & Clyde Hertzman Developmental Health And The Wealth Of Nations  Guilford Press New York 1999