Material Culture Commodities Are Inherently Morally Bad

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), there is a tendency to adopt negative ways of the wealthy as objectives and this leads to lack of wisdom and virtue ultimately resulting to the "the universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments" (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 beings (Engels 1892). Thomas Hobbes later broadened bacons philosophy of materialism by systematizing it. To him human senses are responsible for the desire of material things. The sight, touch, smell taste inform the heart and brains causing pressure in human beings to acquire commodities (Hobbes 1996). Both Bacon and Hobbes arguments are centered in the fact that human knowledge is fueled by senses.

Arthur Schopenhauer a German philosopher also contributed to the growing debate on materialism, he considered materialism as a philosophy of one who fails to plan (Schopenhauer 1883). He claims that people know material objects through observation and consequent actions in the brain. The way material objects are experienced is dependent on how the brain understands.

Ludwig Feuerbach introduced a new twist to materialism through his book The Essence of Christianity. He provides an approach focusing on human values and concerns as the external manifestation of one's inward nature.

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