Materialism’s Lack of Ethics

Materialism involves the importance one attaches to their worldly possessions. For a materialist, possessions are central to his or her life in that he or she feels that increased “consumption” increases his or her satisfaction with life. Materialism may become a problem in situations where the physical goal of consumption overshadows all other goals of self and development. This does not imply that all material desires are bad. In fact, the acquisition of material possessions may begin to interfere with other important aspects of life. At that point, materialism is likely to become harmful to the person or to society. What is the relationship of materialism to individuals’ ethical beliefs? Do consumers who are more materialistic have different ethical standards than those who are not? On one hand materialism may increase a society’s economic wealth and material possessions. On the other hand, there are those who would argue that materialism has a neg...