Materialism – Exploited

Calvin Blair, Year 11

In a world with increasingly effective and targeted advertising, and a generational shift to a more self-centred manner of thinking, consumerism is running rampant. Yet, the value of material possessions is quickly degraded, with the seeds of discontentment rapidly growing into consuming ideals.

In Western society, materialism prevails as the preeminent ideology, particularly as we abandon religious beliefs in exchange for idolatry. In this material-led value system, the worth of an item is oft calculated by the value that society has placed on it. It is driven by the greed and envy of others, the ability for it to be coveted by one’s friends or society. The idolisation of possessions as the societal norm leads to the competition of who can acquire the most things, rapidly diminishing the value of the objects attained. Money is an example of this, for numerous studies have shown that the happiness brought by wealth increases up until about one million dollars, whereafter, dissatisfaction increases. Once one is able to take care of the day to day costs of living, such as the mortgage, school fees, insurance, the quintessential material possession no longer drives happiness. However, as coveting goods permeates the fabric of Western society, the greed for more still exists. Once one has gained something, it has value for a short while until we, once again, become aware of what we do not possess; current possessions are bitter reminders of what we are yet to have, instead of what we do have. Only those objects that stand as mementos of disparate significance can stand the battering and weathering of the sands of time.

Advertising plays a large part in the perpetuation of the vicious cycle of lust and bitterness. Discomfort and distaste with one’s current lot in life becomes acute when confronted with what one does not possess. As people try to fill a void in their lives with goods, a void created by the abandonment of religion and society, there remains a longing in people’s hearts that is easily exploitable. Adverts and corporations promise to fill the void, and replace the bitterness of one’s possessions with the sweet bliss of new items. With the increase in the technological

Aengus O’Byrne - Year 9

ability to connect with people on an unprecedented scale, advertising has become more direct and precise at driving daggers of lust into the vulnerabilities of our hearts. It has expanded its reach, intruding into people’s lives more than ever before, ensuring that we are always acutely aware of that which we do not possess. It allows advertisers to continue to prey on and profit from society’s obsession with consumption. They ensure that material possessions cannot bring contentment, at least not for long periods of time.

However, the desire to fill a gaping void in our lives with goods, because that is the socially agreed upon method for filling it, traps people into lives enslaved by that which they idolise. As society instructs them to turn to material possessions, they turn away from societal connections and religious beliefs. These are the things that often leave a hole in our lives, abandoning the human need for interpersonal connections, frameworks that yield satisfaction. In the plight of incompleteness, turning to the amassing of wealth traps us in short, but unfulfilling sprints to bursts of pleasure. Many people in capitalist societies are incredulous and amazed that those living in abject poverty can attain happiness and contentment; it is because they are freed by the relationships that they have in their lives. They are not trapped by dissatisfaction nor by the envy that opposes the noble actions people aspire to.

It is not a lack of willingness to be free and noble that prevents people being so, but the preoccupation with the Sisyphean task itself.