Is society materialistic?

Society as an entity is not.

People (some people, not all) are materialistic.

But there is a key question: what is materialism? One could argue that anything more than subsistence living is materialism. Others could make the point that materialism equals greed, but nothing less than that would qualify.

There are some HUGE grey areas there, and before I would even begin to give a serious answer, we need to hear your definition…

I agree with what elbanditoroso said, some people, not all are materialistic…

I think material things for people is a status symbol, and also a sign of success, or if they are insecure or like to show off that they have a lot….

I live in Hollywood, CA, soon to move to Beverly Hills, CA and some of the stuff I see blows me away…

People here are materialistic, but they are also really hard working. I think some people enjoy having expensive things, and other don’t, which is both fine.

A majority of society does indeed seem to be, BUT the actions of many cannot define the actions of the whole.

Now as to why, we want to live comfortably and we are under the impression that the more one has the more comfortable one can live life.

I think I’m materialistic sometimes, I can only speak for myself. I buy a lot of clothing, jewelry, new styles, and I go shopping a lot. I’m humble though, not stuck up about it.

Yes, we are. It makes me sick.

This is the way of Ouroboros, it will be our undoing. We are not consumers. Never think of yourself as a consumer.

Which society? Definitely Western society.

Maybe the “Western’ society is; most of the underdeveloped world is not, the main reason being they have merely enough (if at all) to feed themselves.
They’ll probably not awaiting the iPhone 5.

I know I am, and I’m Western.

Materialistic objects are more appealing to me because they’re physical and “last” longer.

Yes, our Western society is all about consumptive behavior. We are quite materialistic.

Yes.

Of course we are. Camping out to protest human rights violations is an arrestable offence, but camping out for Black Friday sales isn’t.

If accumulating is materialistic and it is, then we are. The spiritual values of love, compassion, sharing, forgiveness emerge though as human suffering increases. There are many good hearted folks around, generous in time, help, assets. That’s what makes life worth living.

EVERYONE is materialistic….anyone who claims otherwise, is a fucking liar…..

We are status seekers. We all want to be thought of well by others. A very common strategy for being thought of well is acquiring stuff. If you have a lot of stuff, people often want to be with you, in hopes you’ll give them some stuff.

But you can gain status in other ways—through spiritual pursuits, or by helping others, or by being entertaining. People will gain status any way they can. Some of us make money. Some of us spend money. Some of us spend money we don’t have. Some try to be perfect, impossible as that is.

Saying we’re a materialistic society kind of puts the cart before the horse. Yes. We’re a materialistic society. But we’re also a spiritual society and a caring society and a giving society, and an anything society that will help people gain a little bit of status. What is most important in understanding human behavior is understanding that we are tribal animals and that being closer to the top of the pecking order is what motivates almost all our behavior in one way or another.

As a whole. Yes. I think it all was in the works the moment we built the first wheel. Then we wanted 2 wheels and then 3 and 4. Now we want 4 wheels under a fancy car with seat warmers and dvd player and if possible a driver. :D