Quotes About Materialism

For hym was levere have at his beddes heedTwenty bookes, clad in blak or reed,Of Aristotle and his philosophie,Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrie,But al be that he was a philosophre,Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre.

And yet he hadde a thombe of gold.

The ad does not say "Buy this!"; it says, "Be assured that if you buy and display this product, others are being well trained to feel ugly and inferior in your presence, just as you feel ugly and inferior compared with this goddess.

capitalism is not "materialistic," but "semiotic." It concerns mainly the psychological world of signs, symbols, images, and brands

The rich covet the new iPod not for the sounds it can make in their heads, but for the impressions it can make in the heads of others.

I don't need three cars and a great big fucking house [for two people]. But I do and I want it. This is the issue.

I don't need three cars and a great big fucking house [for two people]. But I do and I want it. This is the issue. [The Future of the Planet: Life, Growth and Death in Organisms, Cities and Companies. SFI Community Lecture, August 29, 2017]

The system we have evolved critically relies on people continually wanting new cars and new cell phones, new widgets and gadgets, new clothes and new washing machines, new thrills, new entertainment, and pretty much new everything, even when they already have enough of "everything.

Remember, philosophically speaking, Americans are mongrels —practical materialists but with a dreamy streak of divine approval.

And recently, we installed another word in its place which, to their minds, has a wholly positive connotation. We say 'Gluttony'. They say 'Consumerism'.

Consumerism, the new black. I want my burger my way. Shaken not stirred. Sauce on the side and rare but not rare rare. Venti, two-pump, sugar-free vanilla, non-fat, two Splenda, extra-hot, extra-whip, extra-mocha Mocha and can you put the Splenda in before you pour the milk? (See, this is where it gets positively delicious!) Under the auspices of that wonderful word Consumerism, not only is this not seen as overly demanding, it's positively encouraged by everyone.

The wealthy have nothing left except money.

When a man says money can do anything, that settles it: he hasn't got any.

What Englishman will give his mind to politics as long as he can afford to keep a motor car?

I spent a lot of money on booze, women and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.

When you stress individualism, as this country does; materialism, as this country does; personal weaponry, as this country does; and racial hatred, which is part of our heritage as white Europeans; and then you add the volatile ingredient of "nothing".

Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff.

That's why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.

That's why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.

Give me matter, and I will construct a world out of it!

We are enriched by not what we posses, but by what we can do without.

Thus, if materialism is inadequate to explain my existence, then spiritualism is equally insufficient for this purpose.

Cómo había que apresurarse en vivir, Dios mío, en agradar a los hombres, en amar... El dinero, los vestidos y los coches bonitos, ¿de qué servía todo eso sin un hombre en tu vida, un pretendiente, un joven amante?

What an extraordinary satisfaction there is in cleaning things! (Does the satisfaction depend on ownership? I suspect so.)