To go a little further with materialism. It may have been a big issue for me at the time (in the eighties) as socially people were not as fragmented as today. For example everyone watched the same television programs and so it increased desire for the same things. Advertising is far more tailored and people have different interests so it makes me understand my problem as a child.

Though people will still have desired goods in other areas that are more socially cohesive as in a shopping centre or outlet. Though mostly goods are far cheaper for most. It is probably more understandable if the goods are out of reach. As an example I had a close friend who wasn’t allowed toys and was only allowed things he could build like electronic parts or a mechanical object to build.

This for my friend built his interest in electronics and engineering. More a Steiner philosophy. I felt for myself it lead to an aversion of goods as described in the previous article as it was mostly out of reach. As I said I think this was a good thing in the long run. Losing materialist tendencies has stuck with me my whole life. I try not to take it too far though.