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Complex topic. Being a minimalist myself, I never understood, either, so it is hard for me to understand why anyone would even want to be rich. Maybe I am just very unusual as hoarding stuff seems to be human. Some cultures have come up with ways to keep that tendency at bay (for instance with some Buddhist schools), others like in the US have not, or even seem to be built around promoting the hoarding.
Where hoarding itself comes from, well, maybe from insecurity and the fear of what the future might bring. Natural limits to hoarding have largely disappeared, for instance the risk of someone taking your stuff, the risk of stuff rotting away, etc. A lot of modern wealth is only virtual, which creates all kinds of problems.
And of course there is the sexual component, being rich impresses many people, especially women.
Liberals and conservatives alike should be able to agree that the sheer size corporations have grown to has afforded them a degree of power and influence that is diametrically opposed to the interests of average Americans. And they have been operating well outside those interests now for the last several decades. Government and business is one and they now run the whole show.
The meat of the solution to this nightmare is simply cutting them down to size. Then to put regulations in place mandating loyalty to Americans and the American economy.
Problem is (another one) the LAW is on big corporation's side, they've managed to twist arms and bend fingers of our legislators while making the American public in general neutered.
Now, when it comes to left/right debate, tell the voters of Wisconsin that it is NOT a left/right debate, especially after left pro labor movements were slamdunked by right wing idealogues systematically dismantled union workers and their rights. I'm pretty sure they'd differ with you.
Fear - some people...there whole personal worth and esteem is based on wealth...their complete identity as a human being revolves around their bank account...There importance as a member of society spawns only from material things....I have see those with more wealth than they can spend in ten life times - continue to lust - but not for money anymore but for domination and power over other human beings. The get a god complex....and are always surprised for some strange reason when the grim reaper snatches them up...They actually think they are going to live forever. Greed is a sickness. It is also in it's extreme forms insanity.
It's much like a pig eating out of a huge bucket of never ending food...It's stomach could be upset...it's digestive system is over taxed...they eat and at the same time their bowls excrete uncontrollably - yet they keep chowing down...even when they are floating in their own feces they continue to ingest....It's a defect....I have an inbred old Beagle dog that is like that...The mutt will drink and eat non stop....it does not have a shut down mechanism in it's brain....The creature is defective....So when we as human beings admire a person who has accumulated billions of dollars...We are actually paying homage and granting respect to a defective person.
Problem is, most Americans have no idea who are friends from foes.
Although it is unavoidable in some cases to stop feeding the big corporate giants that are detrimental to the American way of life, there are some steps ordinary American families can take to not feed the giants.
Once we found out who the Koch bros. affiliates were, we began boycotting certain household items and purchase from other companies. Will this make a difference politically or economically? Probably not, but Americans need to become informed consumers, and need to pick and choose who they'll do business with, here is another example.
Complex topic. Being a minimalist myself, I never understood, either, so it is hard for me to understand why anyone would even want to be rich. Maybe I am just very unusual as hoarding stuff seems to be human. Some cultures have come up with ways to keep that tendency at bay (for instance with some Buddhist schools), others like int he US have not, or even seem to be build around promoting the hoarding.
Where hoarding itself comes from, well, maybe from insecurity and the fear of what the future might bring. And of course there is the sexual component, being rich impresses many people, especially women.
My grandmother used to say that "you don't own things, they own you" and I am always reminded of that when I move out of an apartment into another. How burdensome "things" become. But with these wealth addicted greedy types that have way more than anyone could spend in a lifetime, I'll be that more than owning material items, it's more about how much they have stashed in foreign accounts. There is definitely underlying psychological issues with the compulsive need for endless wealth accumulation.
You are only describing one minor aspect of the symptom, but not where that drive comes from.
Assuming it has always existed with some humans (just think of kings and even the Church centuries ago), maybe we should simply enforce tighter limits again. But that could only happen on a global level these days.
Ideally people would limit their greed themselves, but that takes a certain wisdom many people lack.
I guess you stopped watching PBS too, since the Koch foundation is a huge supporter.
Why such animosity towards people that see greed for the toxic trait that it is? Maybe you don't get that the true meaning of the word "greed" and how it is preceived has never been a positive one. There has never been admiration for one that is considered greedy.
What is interesting is that greed is very strong in countries where social security is weak. Not only in the US, but also in places like India, where there are filthy rich people. Mexico as well. Maybe knowing that there is no social network catching you if you fall makes people egoistic.
My grandmother used to say that "you don't own things, they own you" and I am always reminded of that when I move out of an apartment into another. How burdensome "things" become. But with these wealth addicted greedy types that have way more than anyone could spend in a lifetime, I'll be that more than owning material items, it's more about how much they have stashed in foreign accounts. There is definitely underlying psychological issues with the compulsive need for endless wealth accumulation.
I assume when you have piled up a certain amount (no idea about the amount, maybe a million), everything beyond becomes just numbers and you can't imagine how rich you are, i.e. how much wealth you have extracted from society.
What is interesting is that greed is very strong in countries where social security is weak. Not only in the US, but also in places like India, where there are filthy rich people. Mexico as well. Maybe knowing that there is no social network catching you if you fall makes people egoistic.
We have food stamps, section 8, cash assistance, hell you can collect a disability pension for claiming "social anxiety". I'd say we have a pretty generous social system compared to like India where people literally live in dirt.
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