What is Materialism

1.

Philosophical belief that ideas are the product of existing social relations (cf. “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.” – Karl Marx). Learn more in: Administrative Ethics in the Corporate College: Paradoxes, Dilemmas, and Contradictions

2.

Attention to the material realities of work, such as working conditions, pay, physical and mental demands, etc. Learn more in: A (Critical) Distance: Contingent Labor, MOOCs, and Teaching Online

3.

The value orientation that places possessions in a central role in a person’s life, and associating happiness as well as success with possessions. Learn more in: A Digital Scholarship Project on Materialism Among Children and Adolescents

4.

People who are materialistic lace much value of the material life compared to other life domains such as family life, work life, community life, and spiritual life. Learn more in: Shopping Well-Being and Ill-Being: Toward an Integrated Model

5.

A belief that values products and purchased items above personal and even spiritual relationships. Learn more in: Combating the “Gimme More” Mindset in Modern Classrooms: Citizenship Education vs. Entitlement

6.

The belief that material possessions and comfort are more important than spiritual values. Learn more in: Tainted Away: Violence Over Nature in the Anime of Hayao Miyazaki

7.

The belief that physical possessions are central to life and the source of happiness. Learn more in: Mimetic Desire as Illustrated in The Joneses

8.

Is dominantly viewed as an individual’s real and desired relationship with economic goods, and the pursuit of economic objectives through consumption. Learn more in: The Psychology of Consumerism in Business and Marketing: The Macro and Micro Behaviors of Hofstede's Cultural Consumers

9.

A belief that all phenomena can be explained purely in terms of physical causes. Learn more in: The Digital Soul

10.

A worldview that takes the material world as a basis for the interpretation of experience. Learn more in: A Dialectical Approach to Understanding the Critical Content of Alternative Media

11.

Valuing the acquisition of possessions above social, intellectual, and spiritual pursuits. Learn more in: Media Literacy Facilitation as Service Learning and Public Engagement