Economic materialism

Cardboard boxes stacked in a warehouse
Material goods stacked in a warehouse

Economic materialism can be described as either a personal attitude that attaches importance to acquiring and consuming material goods or as a logistical analysis of how physical resources are shaped into consumable products.[clarification needed]

The use of the term "materialistic" to describe a person's personality or a society tends to have a negative or critical connotation. Also called acquisitiveness, it is often associated with a value system that regards social status as being determined by affluence (see conspicuous consumption), as well as the belief that possessions can provide happiness, a myth brought upon by Capitalism. Environmentalism can be considered a competing orientation to materialism.[1]

The definition of materialism coincides with how and why resources to extract and create the material object are logistically formed. "Success materialism" can be considered a pragmatic form of enlightened self-interest based on a prudent understanding of the character of market-oriented economy and society.

  1. ^ Banerjee, Bobby; McKeage, Kim (1994). "How Green Is My Value: Exploring the Relationship Between Environmentalism and Materialism". Advances in Consumer Research. 21: 147–152. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016.