The Role Of Materialism In American Culture

Do you constantly buy products, but they go straight to the trash after some time? Then you go off and buy new and better products? This is an example of how American culture is based upon materialism.Materialism is a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values.American culture is based on materialism, due to the evidence of our overconsumption, our beliefs, and how we’re taught into materialism.

Research has been proved that the more children are becoming materialistic.“An earlier survey by the Center for a New American Dream found that almost two thirds of parents “believed that their children define their self-worth in terms of what they own” and more than two thirds thought commercialism had an undesirable impact on their children’s values

“One survey of sixth-grade children found that what the boys wanted most was money. They dreamed of having “five million dollars and two days at the mall.” This was another experimental research in the book The Success Ethic, Education, and the American Dream, where they asked sixth graders what was their dream and they responded with wanting money. We are over consuming in our own materialistic needs which influences children’s values and views.

As a nation we value freedom, equality, and independence, but materialism has changed our views, now making consumption and wealth our primary values. Social psychologist, Tim Kasser said, "Our form of capitalism encourages materialistic values, and the research shows that people high on materialism ... are more likely to engage in unethical business behaviors and manipulate people for their own purposes."