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As economy melts down, will people turn from materialism?

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posted on Aug, 11 2008 @ 12:29 AM
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This is something I've been wondering: People just seem to be getting more and more materialistic and status-oriented, and this has been going on for the past 30 years or so.

Yet it seems to bring little satisfaction to most, as they are perpetually unable to reach their "bling-bling" dreams of limos and 500-room mansions.

I wonder if things get bad enough, if people will just turn away from materialism. Obviously people need to eat and survive and can't just wander around like spaced-out hippies, but what I am thinking about is more like a change in what people value. A shift to valuing free time or loving relationships over having lots of toys, for example, or a greater value put on art, spirituality, intellect, etc.

I don't think its impossible...look at the late 60s/70s. Now, I'm not holding this period up as some golden age...there was a lot of BS at that time, too...but people's aspirations were, by and large, less materialistic. Being a blissed-out being mattered more to many people than having marble countertops. There was still status nitpicking and power games and so on, but the objectives were different for millions of people.

I wonder if we'd see a return to something like that, if people would suddenly give up defining themselves through their credit cards. The youngest kids today (Gen Y) seem pretty materialistic but this might change if the economy gets bad enough. Then again, maybe not. The late 60s were a time of economic boom, not desperation, so the situation was different. It's a hard call to make.

Any ideas?



posted on Aug, 11 2008 @ 12:37 AM
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I personally am not materialistic, never have been. I see the world being this way and it sickens me that so many have lost site of what they should be living for. Spoiled children who do not appreciate their home or parents or siblings are the norm now, I saw a commercial today that started off with 'our kids are plugged in' a statement that was to indicate that their kids are normal because they have ipods, phones, electronic games, ect. I am so glad that my parents raised me to know that family is more important than any material thing that could be dangled in front of me. I see my freinds struggle through their jobs, extra hours and days worked to supply their kids with these items, but all the missed time working to buy them this crap is would have been so much more valuable than the items are. It would be great if the world would turn it's back on status quo and get back to what is really meaningful.



posted on Aug, 11 2008 @ 12:52 AM
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Yes it can happen. We have to remember that credit cards are not cash. So they will be gone before the end of materialism. After that cash will be long gone.



posted on Aug, 11 2008 @ 01:02 AM
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Originally posted by silent thunder

I am thinking about is more like a change in what people value. A shift to valuing free time or loving relationships over having lots of toys, for example, or a greater value put on art, spirituality, intellect, etc.



Not to be a cynic, but all that sh#t costs money. Directly or indirectly it has to be paid for with cash (or credit) which translates to hours worked. You definitely can't buy art without money and if you want time to cultivate your spirituality or intellect, or make the art yourself you're going to need a job that pays well enough that you don't need to work 70 hours a week just to survive and spend your spare time sleeping. In a way, these things are all toys as well.

These days people feel absolutely guilty for having any free time at all. Multitasking has seen to that. If you're not being efficient you're wasting your life.

I think the difference between appreciating and wanting nice things and being materialistic stems from people not having the stolid character to know the difference. Ehhhh I look around and see so many problems. People are too materialistic but too damn lazy to go out and get what they want. Then other people know how to spend every waking moment working to live a particular lifestyle, but are totally clueless when it comes to spending time with family or alone.

I guess what it boils down to is I really don't care what people do with themselves and their lives. If they want to work themselves into an early and lonely grave then that's their problem. If they want to buy things they can't afford and have them abruptly repossessed, also their problem. Why do you even care if someone else's spoiled brats complain they didn't get a super sweet 16 birthday party like the ones on tv? It's disgusting, yes, but why do you want society to care less about possessions if you already know it's BS?



posted on Aug, 11 2008 @ 05:36 AM
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I'm seeing a lot of people turning from "materialism" right now, but not by choice,and I am not so sure that it correlates with recognition of what matters in life. I'm seeing more frustration and regret, not to mention fear.

I think this is going to be tough transition.

[edit on 8/11/2008 by Relentless]



posted on Aug, 11 2008 @ 08:05 AM
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Originally posted by sc2099
Not to be a cynic, but all that sh#t costs money.


Well, I did qualify my post with the recognition that people have to go on eating and making a living and so on. I'm not suggesting everyone will "wander the land" in a state of timeless bliss.

But there are certainly ways to live that are less materialistic. People might work less, spend more time at the library, maybe spend and afternoon drawing a picture with a charcoal pencil and a paper. That costs some money, but not a heck of a lot. I'm not suggesting everyone will become Renoir collectors or whatever. There are ways to enjoy art and open your mind that cost very little indeed.



posted on Aug, 11 2008 @ 08:08 AM
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Originally posted by Relentless
I'm seeing a lot of people turning from "materialism" right now, but not by choice,and I am not so sure that it correlates with recognition of what matters in life. I'm seeing more frustration and regret, not to mention fear.

I think this is going to be tough transition.

[edit on 8/11/2008 by Relentless]


A possible way I can see it happening is with the young generation. The people in their 20s and above are too far gone already. But there might be a backlash against materialism by the very young. They might watch their parents get driven into misery and grief over things like subzero refrigerators and granite countertops and simply decide they don't want to waste their lives chasing that. Each generation tends to at least partially define themselves in opposition to the values of their parents.

Then again, maybe the kids will be too far gone, too much in the grip of media/advertising, caught in the mind-swirl. It's hard to say (which is why I started this thread...I want to hear everyone's opinion).



posted on Aug, 11 2008 @ 09:11 AM
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reply to post by silent thunder
 


I know what you are saying. It's just that any hobby costs money to persue. I agree with you that most people take their desire for nice possessions to the extreme. Every single person I know and one in particular who have the huge house, the BMW, the vacations 3-4 times a year...they work like 6am-8pm weekdays and 8-6 on weekends.

They have this gorgeous house that they can never do anything but fall asleep in. It's pathetic. You'd think they would have realized it by now.

You never answered my question. Why do you care if other people are unfulfilled mindless zombies working to pay for a bunch of junk? Clearly you're not.



posted on Aug, 11 2008 @ 08:28 PM
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Originally posted by sc2099
reply to post by silent thunder
 



You never answered my question. Why do you care if other people are unfulfilled mindless zombies working to pay for a bunch of junk? Clearly you're not.


I think its unhealthy for any society to be so materialistic and status-obsesed. I don't like interacting with people like this, and I don't like the social choices that this mindset tends to evoke in people. Such choices can come back to haunt every member of society, even those that didn't make them.

I also have a natural compassion for people and I'd like to see them happier. Call me crazy...

When I was a kid many aeons ago I grew up in a small rural New England town where people all knew each other, people grew and made their own things, people looked out for each other, and people didn't judge each other so much based on the quality of their cars or clothes or whatever. I know life wasn't always perfect in small towns "back in the day" (there were plenty of problems behind closed doors) but I still find such communities preferable to the soulless track-housing hell of today. I'd like to see more people living the way we used to live...enjoying the outdoors, not hurrying so much, reading more, respecting their neighbors based on enduring values.

I accept to a certain degree the idea that the vast majority of people are always going to be plodding, undreative drones. But this doesn't mean they have to be living in a disconnected media/advertisizing trance, judgemental and whipped up into a frenzy about material posessions.



posted on Aug, 12 2008 @ 12:11 PM
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reply to post by silent thunder
 


I agree, that does sound pretty nice. And not just because I love New England (which holds a special place in my heart). It would be nice anywhere in the world to live like that.

The only thing I can say is that once people realize they aren't forced to live in the track housing hell, as you so aptly put it, they sell their house and live somewhere decent. All the new homes around here are like that as well and the sight of it makes me want to barf. I just moved from a house with 100 other 3500 sq.ft. homes on the block, every single one of them 8 feet apart and where the back yard was smaller than the living room. To me, that's hardly living.

When people realize they never wanted to live like that in the first place, they'll just stop. If you don't have to pay a $3000 mortgage every month along with car leases and furniture payments you can certainly afford to work less.



posted on Aug, 13 2008 @ 10:50 AM
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great thought provoking thread.

you know i remember reading a article that said appox" a harvard study showed that material things/money bring you happiness up a level where your basic needs are being met/ stable shelter/home and food .

People are caught up in the capitalistic greed because that's what they told= success. So they chase this dream and fill the empty space in their hearts with material things....sadly those that don't include "love" will always be empty, aside from short bursts of fun, i think this is prevelant in married couples (where sustaining happiness seems difficult these days and because often they don't enjoy the relationship anymore, yet society tells them they should, so they buy toys to fix the confusion . don't confuse what i'm saying into believing money is bad, money can be a large part of happiness but only when you have some sort of balance with other things in your life like a loving relationship with close friends, significant others, children, and ESPECIALLY love for YOURSELF to begin with. Also i am not saying marriage is bad, but that it is growing potentially more dangerous unless you (have a good heart, and intention w/ marriage) not material/status symbol gain, and that you find someone with a good heart, otherwise you will be doomed to a eventual life of "shackles and chains" which can potentially build up in you and be released in all sorts of negative behavior should someone feel trapped and confused and unhappy. I think the pool of people with the hearts and patience and intentions for a happy marriage is contracting and very much the minority today, but that at least people are divorcing and not living in unhappiness (note this is different that ordinary up's and down's)

Back to the OP's topic, NO way in HECK does the majority of this USA go toward non materialistic happiness IMO, they are the most far gone generation and not only are they bombarded by materialism=status symbol/success i don't they have many people showing them they have another OPTION /perspective to choose that can maintain their happiness minus the material obsessions. Sadly i think the younger generations will largely turn to violence, and drugs to cope with their weaning off of materialism due to lack of $$$$. Some will surely turn to sports and other hobby's that are pretty cheap, rock climbing, canoeing, surfing, fishing, etc but i fear that will be the minority and also that the PTB will not be able to sustain a society w/0 a brainwashed public chasing materialism, so it's a catch 22 in my mind.

I think the media holds the key to the future of the world, and i think they are focused on profits like any succesful corporation would be, our society is "out of balance" and it seems like those of us who don't need to be obsessed w/ materialism (yet aren't living under bridges) should just focus on enhancing our lives and those that we are around, while trying to give younger people in our lives the option of having more fun outside of material objects, i think society/media/corporate land is sort of stuck in that they need people to be focused on consuming in order to generate the profits that help keep people employed so ya catch 22 in that regard

[edit on 13-8-2008 by cpdaman]







 
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