Customer Reviews

The High Price of Materialism

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great book. Can't say enough good things about it. Kasser breaks down materialism and the effects it has on society. It talks about its effects on one's mental and physical health, how it effects relationships and how it ultimately effects the environment. It is academic, but not so much that someone without a psychology background can't understand it. I didn't find it dry at all like one reader said it was. I was entertained and informed (what a rare combination these days.)

In the final chapter he provides things inviduals and communities can do to fight back against the rampant materialism we're constantly assaulted with and how fighting it will help improve our lives, the lives of the ones we love and the world in general. Make the author happy and check the book out from a library or borrow a copy from a friend.

This very short book demonstrates the truth of the proverb, "Money does not buy happiness." Author Tim Kasser cites numerous studies as he makes a compelling case that materialists are lonely, narcissistic, hampered in relationships, compulsive, insecure and disconsolate. This excellent, necessary work should be required reading for every graduating student and mid-career executive or professional. It is not quite a self-help book, although the author does offer a chapter of advice on how people can attempt to change their ways and even to form a less materialistic society. This is not merely a psychological study, although it recapitulates numerous experiments. It is only in part a polemic against materialism. On the whole, it is a curious work, one that may be a bit too facile and popular in tone to satisfy the most rigorous academic reader, yet far too packed with source citations to appeal immediately to many casual readers. We appreciate this thorough presentation of evidence for a truth to which even the most ardent materialists (such as the Material Girl herself) pay reflexive lip service. No individual or society can legitimately ignore the fact that material success does not correlate with satisfaction or well-being but has a high correlation with low self-esteem, depression, divorce and various forms of abuse.

The High Cost of Materialism is an interesting subject, but the author isn't up to the challenge he sets for himself. The Preface and Introduction are excellent. Both are succinct expressions of the problems that a market-driven economy creates within an individual looking for happiness.
But the method the author uses to accomplish his goal is falls short.

First of all, the author tries to make the claim that "If a person is aware of the effect of materialism in their life, they will probably become happy." This claim is weak at best. There are many people who are happy accumulating stuff. (I don't happen to be one of them, but I don't claim to represent all consumers in the world).

2nd, the author uses questionaires to determine what makes people happy.
He develops an 'Aspiration Index' with questions like:
1) 'Your image will be one others find appealing'
2) 'You will be famous'.
There are 15 of these questions.

He gives this questionaire to 350 people. And then he assumes these responses are an accurate portrayal of all consumers.
But, the sampling technique is terrible. I'm surprised the colleagues who reviewed this article didn't point this out.
For the 350 people, he chooses ONLY
(a) college students
(b) from one or two universities.

Holy cow! A book on the psychological effects
of materialism, seen through the eyes of college students.
What subset of America is represented by "18-22 years olds in University"?
To me, that makes all the conclusions based on his questionairre responses invalid, or spurious at best.

The book sets up many arguments of why people find materialism frustrating, and then refutes each of these. Sometimes finding some psychological 'causes'. But these arguments are created in his head, and the refutation is just the same.

In the final chapter, the author proposes his 'solutions' for an individual to take so he/she's less impacted by a Materialistic society.
Now, this is interesting, because it assumes a person can choose to not be affected by their own society. A cultural anthropologist would argue against this assumption.

Here are a couple of the 'solutions'.
#3: "Get off the materialistic treadmill".
#4: "Ask yourself why you really want the money, looks or fame."

My reaction to these 'solutions' was to realize, they won't help me.

A major problem with this whole book is, it assumes the individual can remove himself/herself from the way society judges others, without any negative feedback. To me, materialism exists because it's a groupthink type
of phenomenon. I'm often judged by what i wear and drive. Just because i know others are negatively judging me by what i own, and not acting warmly because i don't own what they've been told is 'good', doesn't mean i can control the situation or other people's responses. Yes, i can make my own choices. But my choices are then judged by others. And this judgment by others is what causes conformity. And the conformity is the driving motivator for a materialistic society.

So, i commend the author for taking up the subject. And i felt he wrote an excellent problem statement. But his research to find the causes, and his attempt to postulate a conclusion, left me feeling his whole approach is nothing more than wishful thinking.

What is good about this book?
1) It is very short. The time investment required is minimal relative to the practical impact of the material contained.
2) It is very precisely argued. Facts are presented intuitively and concisely with footnotes.
3) It is colorfully written. This is no small feat for a book that relies on quantitative evidence. I could barely put the book down until I finished reading it.
4) It is short, precise, and colorful enough to provide ample grist for discussion among a group of critical thinkers.

This book continues to have a positive and practical influence on my life. It has helped me to form my own opinion of the degree of materialism inherent in various choices presented to me on a daily basis, so that I could better evaluate these choices and make confident decisions about the prioritization of my time.

I found this to be a powerful book. What I appreciated most in this book was that the author wasn't just giving his opinions, but that he cited extensive research to back up his assertions. I've read a few books lately on materialism, and while some were written in a more accessible style, this one answered some of my basic questions about why people behave as they do, and what they are thinking. He also connected materialism to broader issues such as social cohesiveness and environmental resource use that other books, noteably "Dematerializing" ignore to their detriment.

It is not a "breezy" read, but the content is well worth it.

I have to disagree with the reader from the Canary Islands. This book is an academic account about this important topic, but is anything but dry. For anyone wondering why feelings of alienation are so pervasive in our society, this book has the answer. Kasser's final chapter on "Making Change" is a gem.

--I just wanted to add another five-star rating for this insightful, concise, and fascinating book.
--The author currently teaches psychology at Knox College and has performed several original studies researching the effects of material-oriented values on perceived well-being and health. Several people with outstanding credentials have favorably commented on this book, and it is suited for a non-specialized reader.
--The author develops several points: first, selfishly materialistic values naturally reinforce insecurity and discontent; second, such values diminish personal freedom and authenticity; third, affluence rarely (if ever) leads to much happiness or satisfaction; and fourth, materialism detracts from meaningful relationships between ourselves and others (and between ourselves and nature, and between ourselves and, well, ourselves). The author points out that materialism is not some inherent and unique evil within American culture, but seems to be a product of secondary developments (like mass marketing and advertising).
--The author provides several alternatives to materialism and overconsumption, but there are no "easy fixes." On the other hand, it's not all that difficult for individuals to begin to change.
-- The author neglected to point out the high social cost of materialism for the image of this country. Materialism has cost us a great deal in terms of oil wars, our financial dependence on China, and an image as a greedy and lazy group. Some of the research he uses in his bibliography are secondary sources, and several studies would seem best described as pilot studies rather than landmark research. He also fails to point out the paradox that in this cradle of materialist values, we have a unique freedom to leave our culture aside at little cost (in other words, no one is pointing a gun at our heads and telling us we need to buy stuff. We can take the responsibility to break out at any time.). He also seems somewhat oblivious to the growth of materialism among newly-rich nations like China, who seem ready to teach us a few lessons about materialism.
--I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious how people think they need a couple of BMW's and a million-dollar house to be happy. It certainly made me question some of my assumptions about the relationship between material and my well-being.

I do not have much to add to what has already been said but I will give it a go. This is one of the clearest, most succinct, and well studied books on why materialism is making American's unhealthy. This book does not harp but brings 10+ years of original research to bear on the subject and leaves the reader thinking that something must be done to make changes.

Check this one out as soon as possible and use it to state to your friends why buying more will not make them happy.

I feel this book might better be entitled, the High Price of Possessiveness, since many of the external (extrinsic) motivators that cause personal dissatisfaction are in fact immaterial, such as image and status. The author is a bit loose about what comprises materialism -- image yes, but power no.

Unlike most books on this topic, the author provides real data from replicated psychological experiments, instead of relying on moralizing, criticism, and ungrounded theory (he does however, sometimes insert such unempirical arguments in the mix.) This data presents some amazing insights, and everyone would benefit from becoming aware of what these data show about our sense of subjective well being. The author does a good job of showing how preoccupation with consumer goods and status are highly correlated with personal dissatisfaction. But it doesn't follow that having a preoccupation with external motivations means that consumption or materialism is bad, and that being interested in things condemns one to unhappiness.

The actual data showing these effects is rarely presented in the book, but the one occasion the author shows his own data is enlightening. While the author chooses to focus attention on on what he calls materialism, the critical variable in happiness is actually the extent to which one pursues activities involving unrewarded intrinsic motivation. If one is motivated by both non-material as well as material pursuits, the author's data show one is not less happy than if one forgoes material pursuits. On the other side, if one doesn't pursue active non-rewarded recreation (i.e, only watch TV), you will be less happy if you try to give up material interests than if you have an interest in them (you would be very depressed.)

The author suggests -- without much justification -- that materialism prevents the pursuit of intrinsically motivated activities. This lead him to advocate "voluntary simplicity." Here he abandons science and starts moralizing. He notes rightly that our expectations of what's 'normal' rise as we have more possessions, so our satisfaction remains constant. He notes that we no longer consider a hot shower a luxury, though it was at one time. But he never addresses how a reduction in possessions affects satisfaction. What evidence I have seen suggests that people react differently to status reduction. The author's answer is people can compensate by increasing non-rewarded activities. But even non-rewarded activities such as recycling can be dissatisfying if one introjects feeling of guilt that one isn't doing one's best.

This book can be a great start to a reasonable debate on values and satisfaction, but don't expect tips on how to live contentedly.

Definitely a good book with a great message. Heavy on statistics and studies. Like others have said, the chapter about what can be done to help change some of the materialistic values of our society was a great read. It is amazing how materialistic our society is. Just look at all the ads around you, painted on buses, in stadiums, on billboards, on TV, on the Internet, in magazines, and in schools. True happiness and fulfillment cannot come from materialism.