Addicted to Materialism

Is there a Difference between Objectivism and Materialism

Every morning I ponder some the ramifications of actions based upon the Objectivism of the day.  For example, man as a rational creature has reason to guide him as an individual and thus his means of survival.  This of course is the third principle of the philosophy of Ayn Rand.  But if man is rational, and reason depends upon an individual’s choice well…, there lies the rub as it leads into principle four, ethics.  And of course this brings one to the conundrum of Man being an end to himself and not a means to the end of others.

So why is it when I go to the store I find particular items no longer in stock, or with a particular label, always priced much more than the unlabeled item next to it?  As individual as the Rand philosophy is, it cannot hide from the fact that we, as a species are part of the whole.  So if Objectivism tells us that …, rather than depict the situation as one of man living for his own sake, not sacrificing himself to others…, with the achievement of his own happiness as the highest moral purpose of his life, we need to think of…, the lemmings. 

While materialism can make one happy in a short term physical embrace might arouse passion, does it also bring individuality into play?  The laws of philosophy must, at some point, bring the laws of nature into play.  We are always under the pressure of evolution.  To stay stagnant brings the species as a whole, not the individual of the day, to a standstill.  And once there, extinction is the next step.  And to help bring us to a standstill is to embrace individual happiness, and to be an end solely to oneself.  On a larger scale, groups tend to band together not knowing that it is the mixing of the gene pool which leads to selection of the positive traits needed in the evolutionary process. 

Diversity is important, as is individuality, yet when I go to a store it is easy to see how materialistic intents tend to group the species, and as the lemmings, push the group toward the cliff.  This concept is evident when moving off the tack of materialism and onto social partitioning as well, just ask all of those of ‘Noble’ bearing in Europe, who also bear the trait of hemophilia.  If Man is so individualistic why does he suffer from the inability to make a rational decision?  And this brings one to the question of Materialism.

We all must hold our breath and await the outcome of the changes in Tunisia and Egypt and all the possibilities underway in so many other non representative organizations, yet what do we see headlined in the news?  “The Price of GAS will….”

How can Man be individualistic if we, as a species, are constantly led to the trough on a leash? 

Perhaps Objectivism needs to be modified so that the different hierarchies of the species are each outlaid with a set of rules which better fit the reality of the situation.  For example, the external world exists, independent of man’s consciousness, independent of any observer’s knowledge, beliefs, feelings, desires or fears AND if you have a lot of money you can exist however you want within it.

There is definitely a big gap between the poor and the rich, but there is also a big gap between those that can think independently and those that need the group to show the way.  It is this rather large part of the species as a whole on which the small, wealthy part maintains in dominance.

If Objectivism preaches that man is living for his own sake, then who will help those in need?

Even though Saverio Monachino's writing style has been termed by some as 'Kurt Vonnegut meets Mark Twain' and Saverio describes it as 'comic fiction noir' there is no comic touch to this particular blog. But he is attempting is to open the door to serious discussion.  You can find Saverio Monachino on www.comicfictionnoir.com.