Side-effects of Materialism
In the long run, in such a society of materialistic manipulations and exploitations, self-interests and greed will become a social decadence!
For this reason deep friendship will slowly become a scarce commodity and the feeling of community will slowly erode.This is bad news because a competitive and selfish people without regards for fellow citizens cannot bring about a very enlightening or morally-strong society.
Furthermore, a country of people scrambling for materialism without a care for the community, will not be able to evoke loyalty or total commitments from its citizens.Selfish pursuits of individuals, without being balanced by a caring society which shows some consideration for another fellow human beings, is the source of civil discord.
Material possessions should, therefore, not be the only important measures of success.
A society can be strong and durable only when there is social cohesion, moral commitments and self-restraint.
There must also be the sense of social and civic responsibility because that is what needed to bring about a neighbourliness, care for the poor and handicapped, and also bring about the political awareness to promote a strong political maturity of the country and its citizens.
As long as people think that minding their own business and upgrading their flats and cars, are the only important things that matters to them- then this country can only be a trading post of selfish competitors chasing after material possessions only and not a nation of citizens bonded by one common destiny.Selfishness will ultimately lead to what is known as the tragedy of commons: where everyone maximises his or her short term gain without consideration for the general good.
The tragedy is that the future generation will have to pay for the greed of the present generation!
One example of this tragedy would be in the area of healthcare.As a person becomes more and more materialistic, he tends to focus less attention to his health until he falls sick.He is likely to indulge in a lifestyle of fancy gastronomic food, lavish entertainment and glamourful life.This, together with all the stress, the competition, the anxieties and the envy from the chase for material possessions will inevitably affect his health in the long run.
In an affluent society of "conspicuous consumption", the type and quality of healthcare a person gets also becomes a status symbol.People are more inclined to consume tertiary healthcare with all its modern technologies an procedures than to be a believer of the preventive medicine of primary healthcare.
In Singapore, it has become common to hear people boasting of their care under famous cardiologists, their children's treatments under prominent paediatricians and their other wives' visits to popular gynaecologists.
This consumption of tertiary healthcare is likely to increase as a person grows older.
The richer he becomes the more he is afraid of death as he has too much now to lose.
It is also because materialism has weakened his spiritual strength and diminished his ability to grow old gracefully and die peacefully.
A consumer of tertiary healthcare, is therefore, likely to die- struggling with all the medicines and machines attached to him in the confines of an expensive intensive care unit.
This mindless consumption of tertiary healthcare not only creates a sick and nuerotic society, it also diverts resources from inexpensive primary healthcare that benefits the majority to more costly tertiary healthcare that benefits the few.In an ageing population, the bill will have to be paid by the next generation, both through their Medisave account and taxes.
Another example is housing.A materialistic person loves being assets-rich.Unfortunately, high property prices produce nothing and someone has to pay for it.
When there are asset-inflation and higherty prices, our workers must be paid more so that they can meet their expectations of owning a house and paying their mortgages.If the prices of flats increase, our electricians, plumbers, mechanics and hawkers must be paid more because they too would want to own a flat.When there are asset-inflation and high property prices, those who do busineses must also pay higher and higher rentals.
The high property prices must be passed on ultimately to the consumers.If a company has to pay more for its workers and rents, the price of goods and services must eventually be increased.In the end, life becomes expensive for everyone.
With high property prices, unless the rich migrates (since they can afford multiple citizenships) or the rich-wannabes downgrade, how can these people realise their wealth?
Furthermore, as almost all Singaporeans own their flats- even when they sell their flats, who do they sell to? The next generation of Singaporeans- their children!
Thus, we may be rich on paper but in the end, the people who are going to pay for the high prices of properties will be their own children and the consumers in general!
In the long run, in such a society of materialistic manipulations and exploitations, self-interests and greed will become a social decadence!
For this reason deep friendship will slowly become a scarce commodity and the feeling of community will slowly erode.This is bad news because a competitive and selfish people without regards for fellow citizens cannot bring about a very enlightening or morally-strong society.
Furthermore, a country of people scrambling for materialism without a care for the community, will not be able to evoke loyalty or total commitments from its citizens.Selfish pursuits of individuals, without being balanced by a caring society which shows some consideration for another fellow human beings, is the source of civil discord.
Material possessions should, therefore, not be the only important measures of success.
A society can be strong and durable only when there is social cohesion, moral commitments and self-restraint.
There must also be the sense of social and civic responsibility because that is what needed to bring about a neighbourliness, care for the poor and handicapped, and also bring about the political awareness to promote a strong political maturity of the country and its citizens.
As long as people think that minding their own business and upgrading their flats and cars, are the only important things that matters to them- then this country can only be a trading post of selfish competitors chasing after material possessions only and not a nation of citizens bonded by one common destiny.Selfishness will ultimately lead to what is known as the tragedy of commons: where everyone maximises his or her short term gain without consideration for the general good.
The tragedy is that the future generation will have to pay for the greed of the present generation!
One example of this tragedy would be in the area of healthcare.As a person becomes more and more materialistic, he tends to focus less attention to his health until he falls sick.He is likely to indulge in a lifestyle of fancy gastronomic food, lavish entertainment and glamourful life.This, together with all the stress, the competition, the anxieties and the envy from the chase for material possessions will inevitably affect his health in the long run.
In an affluent society of "conspicuous consumption", the type and quality of healthcare a person gets also becomes a status symbol.People are more inclined to consume tertiary healthcare with all its modern technologies an procedures than to be a believer of the preventive medicine of primary healthcare.
In Singapore, it has become common to hear people boasting of their care under famous cardiologists, their children's treatments under prominent paediatricians and their other wives' visits to popular gynaecologists.
This consumption of tertiary healthcare is likely to increase as a person grows older.
The richer he becomes the more he is afraid of death as he has too much now to lose.
It is also because materialism has weakened his spiritual strength and diminished his ability to grow old gracefully and die peacefully.
A consumer of tertiary healthcare, is therefore, likely to die- struggling with all the medicines and machines attached to him in the confines of an expensive intensive care unit.
This mindless consumption of tertiary healthcare not only creates a sick and nuerotic society, it also diverts resources from inexpensive primary healthcare that benefits the majority to more costly tertiary healthcare that benefits the few.In an ageing population, the bill will have to be paid by the next generation, both through their Medisave account and taxes.
Another example is housing.A materialistic person loves being assets-rich.Unfortunately, high property prices produce nothing and someone has to pay for it.
When there are asset-inflation and higherty prices, our workers must be paid more so that they can meet their expectations of owning a house and paying their mortgages.If the prices of flats increase, our electricians, plumbers, mechanics and hawkers must be paid more because they too would want to own a flat.When there are asset-inflation and high property prices, those who do busineses must also pay higher and higher rentals.
The high property prices must be passed on ultimately to the consumers.If a company has to pay more for its workers and rents, the price of goods and services must eventually be increased.In the end, life becomes expensive for everyone.
With high property prices, unless the rich migrates (since they can afford multiple citizenships) or the rich-wannabes downgrade, how can these people realise their wealth?
Furthermore, as almost all Singaporeans own their flats- even when they sell their flats, who do they sell to? The next generation of Singaporeans- their children!
Thus, we may be rich on paper but in the end, the people who are going to pay for the high prices of properties will be their own children and the consumers in general!
posted by Sean | 4:19 AM
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