| Riding in a Convertible with the Windows Up Unlike this University, I am not well endowed...well, not in terms of monetary assets anyways�[.]after she told me to take it out... For this reason, the materialistic tendencies affecting a great proportion of this country's current constituency do not influence me too heavily. It isn't[spell out] feasible for many Americans to frivolously purchase the big-ticket items that momentarily fas-cinate the exorbitantly wealthy, but is that necessarily a bad thing? Of course it is, for several readily apparent reasons.[Which are?]i'm gonna freakin tell ya, hence the five pages behind this one... At the expense of certain individual[vague] values, and to some extent, liberties, the preponderance of materialism incontrovertibly stimulates the economy and thus the collective good of the society in which it exists, financially speaking. Now[conversational],'scuze me for trying to be engaging... I don't [spell out] mind sweatshops all that much, but when one purchases clothing or small trinkets produced in Third World countries, the probability that they were assembled in deplorable working conditions akin to indentured servitude is astounding.[So are you saying that sweatshops are an ethicak consequence of materialism?] well, duh... Perhaps the proprietors of these two-bit manufacturing operations simply can't afford to pay a decent salary, but that is certainly not a viable justification for this poorly compensated slavery. Knowingly supporting these manual-labor miscreants is morally despicable to say the least.[we're supposed to be focusing on consequences of mat...] One might venture that a detachment complex can account for this egre-gious [circled w/?] ok, so in my editing that wasn't the end of a line anymore. So the fuck what?... apathy, but it remains ethically unacceptable.[Why?] If i've said it once, I've said it more than that: Because I said so... Also, those with the fiscal means routinely attain that which they desire (or think they do), which leads to an abhorrent arrogance [how does this have to do with (the sweatshop part)] ok, ok, I was just looking for filler... that is difficult to overcome, and who needs more of that hanging around? Thankfully, counterarguments exist, and they shall comprise the remainder of the paper. Materialism is certainly not an economic panacea, [huh?] it means a cure-all... though its effects can be very [dead word] and yet it seems very vivacious to me... positive. Warning: A brief Macroeconomic (large-scale) lesson will soon begin. The Gross Domestic Product of a country, which immediately impacts international bragging rights, consists of the total of a nation's consumer spending, investment, and government purchases, and the difference between exports and imports (C + I + G + (X - M)). When GDP is maximized, price similarly increases, and the economy shifts toward full employment, which is good. World domination is so pass� these days that stuff [vague] like this matters to some people. In any case, one can plainly see that when consumers spend their earn-ings [circled] dammit, I did it again... on domestic goods, the entire economy benefits. That's why power windows cost an extra $500; it's for the good of the country. [nice lesson-but how does it have to do w/ the ethical (she wrote "economic" and then crossed it out) consequences of mat? And it took you so much time to explain this - Why don't you use it to illustrate a point?] Because there is no point to Economics... They [Who?] 'They,' don't you get it? They're everywhere... say money can't buy happiness. [cliche'] No appreciation for comedic effect... This statement is often contested, but a safer assertion is that money can indisputably buy things that make you happy: cars, jewelry, bubble gum, etc. Unless, of course, you're a spiritualist of some sort, then I direct you to my other points (Buddhism and several other Eastern religions reject worldly possessions as they are believed to corrupt the soul). On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are people who simply enjoy having money and spending it. Sadly, they are not incredibly common, so we must all suffer (see above GDP summary). [Why don't you tie it back and be reader-friendly - Furthermore this causes damage to your organizationwhen you have to direct your reader back & forth] I thought it was easy to follow... So whose right is it to deprive these persons [who?] Mickey Mantle, shit, I dunno... of the joy experienced when they get that new fur coat that they don't really need, as long as there is no ill-gotten or fraudulent currency exchanged? A theory is that the science of psychology is rooted in Communism, in that it makes those that splurge feel that they have an "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder," [again, where are the consequences?] Isn't it obvious by now that I'm just ranting and have probably forgotten all about the prompt? when they only have their nation's best interest at heart. |
| So, I have to take a writing class. This assignment dealt with my feelings on materialism. I decided to defend this peculiar institution, but I don't necessarily feel this way. Teacher comments in brackets [ ], my rebuttals in italics. Enjoy. |