Jayne Cobb wrote:So....me buying my new flatscreen tv means I don't "know myself"?
If we got rid of all material goods, all commercialisation - the world economy would ground to a halt, there'd be no drive to further research, no ambition, no motivation, no new medicines, no great human endeavours.....vanity, pride, ambition, jealousy, envy......they are the driving force behind every great cultural/technological breakthrough.....how are we supposed to "evolve into a more powerful and enlightened being" by rejecting them?
A much more likely result would be widespread depression, apathy, and the degeneration of human civilisation......
I'm not saying a slight withdrawal from material culture would be a bad thing - commercialisation has gone too far (it is more socially acceptable to buy a new dvd than to give to charity)......but materialism isn't some great enemy, holding back humanity from ascending to some nirvana state.......
all i've done is post the question, i'm not saying ALL materialism is bad or wrong, what i am asking is whether we have allowed materialism to dominate our everyday lives to such an extent that we have forgotten that we also have a spiritual side which is equally as important.
for example, i know MANY people who cant wait to upgrade their phones to the latest and best, are going nuts because they cant afford the newest flatscreen TV or dont have a HD/Blueray DVD.
when i get on a train or bus all i see are people texting and phoning and most of the convos i hear are meaningless, with convos lasting as long as my journey, and in many cases i get off the train and their still yapping about what some friend said/done or some other rubbish.
that's just 1 tiny example and there are better ones but that's the 1 that sticks in my mind the most.
i agree that material pursuits such as advancement in tech is a good thing (for MANY reasons) but not to the point where nothing else seems to matter.
