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Hey, Alan, Ethics and Materialism is such an interesting topic to discuss, it got my eyes right away, and I’m aware there haven’t been any discussions here.I’ve read Carter’s warning here less as an economic argument and more as a moral and psychological one. It seems he was warning that when a society starts measuring life mainly through possessions, status, and consumption, we slowly lose connection with deeper values like character, responsibility, uniqueness and shared purpose. So materialism here feels like a direction of the soul of a culture, not just a mere lifestyle choice. What feels especially important in the article is this idea that materialism didn’t just stay a lifestyle, it became tied to identity, rights, and political culture.
The pandemic example shows this clearly (based on the article). Wearing a mask or accepting temporary limits wasn’t experienced by some people as a public health issue anymore, but almost as a moral-symbolic attack on who they really are. “Freedom” was felt as the right to continue consuming, moving, and choosing without restriction. So limiting behavior felt like limiting the self, freedom and expression. But the phrase “wrong about us” is what still tickles me.
So was he wrong because he believed people would be morally willing to sacrifice comfort once they understood the stakes? Or because our political and economic systems constantly reinforce a consumption-based identity, making change extremely difficult? Or does it point to something more uncomfortable about human nature itself, something far more deeper and psychological? This commentary needs a follow-up elaboration.
Depending on which of these is true, the issue of materialism becomes mainly a moral problem, a structural one, or something rooted in human psychology itself. I’d really like to hear how you and others understand that tension.
Keiralika wrote: "Depending on which of these is true, the issue of materialism becomes mainly a moral problem, a structural one, or something rooted in human psychology itself. I’d really like to hear how you and others understand that tension."See my book Reason and Human Ethics, a free PDF of which can be accessed and downloaded at https://www.academia.edu/107899091/Re...). It is also available in Kindle and paperback at reasonable prices on Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/Reason-Human-E...) and other Amazon sites throughout the world. The Kindle edition only costs $2.99 USD. I specifically discuss materialism on pages 71-72, but the entire book explains my approach to reason and ethics.
The foregoing is the title of the following December 29, 2024 New York Times gift article about the passing of Jimmy Carter: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/29/yo....