Selected as an Outstanding Academic Book for 2002 by Choice Magazine In The High Price of Materialism , Tim Kasser offers a scientific explanation of how our contemporary culture of consumerism and materialism affects our everyday happiness and psychological health. Other writers have shown that once we have sufficient food, shelter, and clothing, further material gains do little to improve our well-being. Kasser goes beyond these findings to investigate how people's materialistic desires relate to their well-being. He shows that people whose values center on the accumulation of wealth or material possessions face a greater risk of unhappiness, including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and problems with intimacy—regardless of age, income, or culture. Drawing on a decade's worth of empirical data, Kasser examines what happens when we organize our lives around materialistic pursuits. He looks at the effects on our internal experience and interpersonal relationships, as well as on our communities and the world at large. He shows that materialistic values actually undermine our well-being, as they perpetuate feelings of insecurity, weaken the ties that bind us, and make us feel less free. Kasser not only defines the problem but proposes ways we can change ourselves, our families, and society to become less materialistic.
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The High Price of Materialism
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The High Price of Materialism
Tim Kasser
A Bradford Book The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England
2002 Tim Kasser The summary of The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister, is printed by permission of North-South Books. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. This book was set in Sabon by Achorn Graphic Services, Inc. and was printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kasser, Tim. The high price of materialism / Tim Kasser. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-262-11268-X (alk. paper) 1. Acquisitiveness. 2. Avarice. 3. Materialism—Psychological aspects. 4. Happiness. 5. Conduct of life. I. Title. BF698.35.A36 K37 2002 302′.17—dc21 2002016506
To the doctors, nurses, researchers, and staff at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and the Midwest affiliate in Peoria, Illinois
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Contents
Foreword by Richard M. Ryan Acknowledgments xv Chapter 1 Mixed Messages
ix
1
Chapter 2 Personal Well-Being
5
Chapter 3 Psychological Needs
23
Chapter 4 Insecurity
29
Chapter 5 Fragile Self-Worth
43
Chapter 6 Poor Relationships
61
Chapter 7 The Chains of Materialism
73
Chapter 8 Family, Community, and the Earth Chapter 9 Making Change Epilogue 117 Notes 119 References 129 Index 143
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Foreword
At this point in human history we have enough material resources to feed, clothe, shelter, and educate every living individual on Earth. Not only that: we have at the same time the global capacity to enhance health care, fight major diseases, and considerably clean up the environment. That such resources exist is not merely a utopian fantasy, it is a reality about which there is little serious debate. Nonetheless, a quick look around most any part of this warming globe tells us just how far we are from achieving any of these goals. If we hold our eyes wide open we can see that the human community is instead dividing itself into two di