All of Us Die

All of us die - this is what everyone, regardless of religions, political views and socio-economic conditions, would know and agree with. But few of us seem to be able to keep this in mind, and live in accordance to our priorities in this limited life span. Certainly, a billion or more of us are already struggling hard merely to survive. But for the rest of us who are luckier, what would be worth pursuing in our mortal lives, upon fulfilling our basic needs? Is it to find a passion and excel in it? Is it to have as much different experiences as possible? Is it to live as comfortable a life as possible, owning whatever we desire? Or is it to maintain close connections with our loved ones?

There seems to be endless possibilities to choose from. The question is, are we truly free to exert our own choices? And if so, do we truly know what we desire? While many parts of the world still retain distinctive cultures, the values of consumerism penetrate almost every modern society along with the force of globalization. Media worldwide showcases consumer products – some are specially adapted to local markets, such as the vegetarian McDonald meals in India, the whitening products in the East and tanning products in the West, etc. New demands are constantly created and people’s wants are expanded at an unprecedented scale. An aspiration for money and material becomes almost universal. Under the probably most successful propaganda in human history, most of us came to believe that material consumptions are craved by human nature – everyone wants it, and we could not help it. Otherwise, how will it become a worldwide pursuit?

However, money and properties exist in the later part of human history. Our ancestors are hunter-gatherers who live nomadic lives. All properties are liabilities to them while moving around, not assets. True assets are the mutual trust and watching out for each other as a group. People really start to accumulate possessions after living sedentary lifestyle, and collect money after it was widely adopted as a medium for goods exchange. Historically, the philosophers of the world rarely accentuate monetary gain as the purpose of lives. The ancient Greeks (Plata, Aristotle) thought that a meaningful life is one with knowledge and virtue; Confucius emphasized playing one’s role in the society; and the Buddhists advocated the impermanence of life and thus reduced desires lead to reduced sufferings. Were they all missing that point about human nature? Or there were simply many more things to lives?

If we define ‘desire’ as something, if gained, will bring us a sense of fulfilment in our lives, then the impact of material wealth on this seems be far from absolute. There are more than a few celebrities with wealth and status who committed suicides. Many flock from richer parts of the world to the East to seek spiritual fulfilment and the art of happiness. Meditations and Buddhism become trends – for the pursuit of happiness or inner peace. According to WHO, though high-income countries constitute only 17.9% of the world population, they contributed to 23.9% of global suicide cases in 2012. The World Happiness Report was introduced in 2011 and measured GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption, underscoring the recognition that material wealth alone is not sufficient in fulfilling human lives. Many scholars conducted studies on the subject. Some insisted on positive correlation between income and happiness while others don’t. Researcher Robert Waldinger concluded after a 75-year-old study that the key to a happy life is good relationships more than anything else.

For most of us, our desired lives are drawn from examples around us, or expectations by those around us. These expectations might be further formed by the wider cultural construction actively shaped by media, government, education and traditions. Often, it is not easy to distinguish between what is desired by ourselves, our loved ones, or the wider societies. As we also long for approval and recognition by others, others’ desires easily become ours. We tend to overlook the small contradictions and anxieties caused by different expectations and propositions by media, education and our traditions. Such feelings of anxiety are increasing in modern societies, with the emphasis on individual liberty. We feel that there are more choices than ever on how to live our lives, and we ought to take responsibilities of making them. Our personal wish comes to take precedence, but yet insufficient to discard the yearning for others’ respect and approval.

For me, an experience of the wonder of nature, or an ability to give impacts to someone’s lives, felt intense and meaningful. I will appreciate a genuine friend for life but I am hardly excited about a gorgeous garment for more than a week. I think that will be true for so many people as well. All these can be labeled as self-interest in some ways. That means we must expand our definition of self-interest beyond monetary interest. Our self-interest must include, for example, that we feel good and empowered to have made a difference on others’ lives. And if there is some truth in Aristotle’s words about meaning of lives being the quest for virtues, we must also consider how the blind pursuit of consumption has brought disasters to our planet to many of our own kind. So to be stubbornly materialistic is not an individual liberty, it is demanding millions of others to suffer on your behalf by perpetuating a system of injustice and exploitation.

Considering all these perspectives, the mainstream values of consumerism and materialism are not worth pursuing, neither for personal fulfilment, nor for a better future for our humanity. The purpose of this essay is to specifically call upon those who have recognized the systemic ill of the consumer culture, but doubtful of whether such ‘human nature’ can be gotten rid of. Being materialistic is not human nature, not when we remember our mortality and the unpredictability of lives; not when so many other small things in lives grant us more intense experience. Money, at the most, is a tool for us to achieve well-being, not a goal we sacrifice our well-being for. It is itself, a piece of paper, value of which is granted by us human beings, and could depreciate involuntarily. Such a thing is not worthy of environmental destruction and abuse of human’s dignity.