Affluenza
Well, its been a year and half since I wrote my last post… how crazy is that!I’ve been doing plenty on Twitter though…
I just wanted to share some exerts from a book I have just picked up: Affluenza by Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss:
“Materialistic values of wealth, status and image work against close interpersonal relationships and connection to others, two hallmarks of psychological health and high quality of life.” (pg 14)
“… the more materialistic we are the less free we are. Why? Because we must commit more of our lives to pay for our material desires. And the more acquisitive we are the more our desires and the means of satisfying them are determined by others. Acquisitive people derive their sense of identity and their imagined place in society from the things they own, yet the symbols that confer their self-worth and status are the whim of external forces – of fashion.Materialism thus robs us of autonomy.” (pg 15)
What great insight into the crazy way we choose to live.
Leave a comment and let me know what your thoughts are…
