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Commodities Are Inherently Morally Bad
Karl Marx (1844), imagines of a society where relationships are valuable than money and goods, claiming that this would be a supeiror society. The world today has been preoccupied with acquisition of wealth leading to growth of a materialistic generation. Materialistic people who are considered to be greedy for money and have the tendency to get riches quickly without regard to morals. They possess the desire to live in lavishly in plush homes, wearing expensive jewelry and cloths moving in fancy automobiles. Materialism creates the urge for one to live an extravagant life.
Materialism has a negative impact on the society; it is deeply rooted in greed and personal satisfaction. It is obvious that the real cause of the current world economic problems is greed due to materialism, the acquisition of wealth and power abiding in corruption. The world is currently witnessing an increase in acquisition of material things and more so developed in the context of modern consumerism (Appadurai 1986).
Commodities or materialism is linked to many other feelings such as lust, selfishness, jealous and many other similarly negative ones. Many are drawn into immorality and fail to understand the distinction between the right and wrong choices; to them the most important thing is good quality and false comforts. According to Smith (1759),...
Everything around materialistic these people is dictated by human need and provided by the environment and their beliefs informed by scientific inherence.
Materialism in the recent times has led to the development of a first paced economy with introduction of instant gratification. According to Burke (2010), instant gratification is caused by limited control of low impulse that provides short-term satisfaction but leads to long-term chaos, imbalances, and personal failure. Technology has introduced the internet, microwaves, cell phones, fast food, EZ pass, drive-up ATM, and credit cards. These conveniences have taken away patience people are constantly searching for ways of quickly fulfilling their needs. This situation has made it difficult for many to establish meaningful personal and cultural goals; people have no time to know each other better or even develop emotional maturity.
The Origins of Materialism
Though materialism is highlighted in many early religious books in the bible, the progenitor of English materialism is Francis Bacon in the sixteenth century. To him, matter dressed in sensuous and poetic glamour attracts human…
Bibliography
Appadurai, A 1986, 'Introduction: commodities and the politics of value', in The Social Life of Things: commodities in cultural perspective, Cambridge University Press., Melbourne.
Burke, J 2010, Instant Gratification -- the Trap That Avoids Building Real Wealth, viewed 2 June
2012, <http://www.dreammanifesto.com/instant-gratificationthe-trap-avoids-building-real-wealth.html>.
Egilly 2011, www.teenink.com, viewed 2 June 2012.
Rueters 2011, Business &, viewed 2 June 2012, <http://www.reuters.com/>.
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