GAMSAT practice essay

Intro -

Materia Materialis lism m has exist existed ed for a long long time, time, manifes manifests ts itself itself into into capital capitalism ism in modern era Could Could be be argued argued materia materialis lism m causes causes tunnel tunnel visi vision, on, bad morals morals Coul Could d be be arg argued ued it prov provide ides s inc incen enti tive ve

Materialism and indulgence have been deeply rooted in societies since thousands of years ago; from kings of civilisations that seek endless growth to businessmen who have an insatiable appetite for f or more investment and more return. In modern times, the cycle of pursuit has been reinforced by capitalism where more money leads to more possessions and more choices. It could be argued that this pursuit is futile with no clear end, but many would argue that the ourney itself is what we savour the most.  !o  !o be wealthy in most societies is to have status and and control. "owever paradoxically, to be wealthy you have to have money, but to appear wealthy you have to spend. #or this very reason, people develop an uncompromising attitude where the more money we earn, the better be tter.. !his attitude at its most extreme is capable of blinding people, causing the end to overwhelmingly take precedence over the means. $very human being has a limited time on earth, so one has to sit and ponder; is hunting down wealth throughout a lifetime the way to bring us happiness% It&s more likely caused by severe tunnel vision that prevents us from realising that no amount of money will w ill ever satisfy us. 'e can evaluate whether or not riches make us happy by simply looking to people (above& us in society. society. It is clear that self-actualisation is not brought b rought about through having money because there is no shortage of tragic tr agic stories of billionaires realising their money wasn&t enough. $mbracing the idea of extreme materialism can consume us as it is an ideology that states that our self-worth is entirely based on what we own. )s a result we risk losing control over our identities and eventually, our property owns us. Conversely, being less mindful of  status and our net worth will allow us the freedom to discover ourselves. *emoving the monetary barriers that separate people shifts the focus into the depths of each individual&s personality. personality. !his is instead of the focus being on material obects that are cosmetically +xed up then put into a perverse viewing room that allegedly dictates who we are. "owever, as )braham incoln argues, seeing other people&s success relative to ours is a driving force for us to be enterprising. 'e may seek to make money from other people by oering them services or goods that in turn bene+t the economy. economy. Moreover, the idea of attainment was never a foreign concept introduced to human beings; it is ingrained into our nature. !he rise of communism showed us ust how destructive trying to eualise a society is / it seeks to destroy a natural urge within us to succeed and to ignore the undeniable dierences between individuals. !he futility of communism is clear when you understand that dierent people excel in dierent +elds, which is what makes society grow. grow. !here should be no embargo on the natural enterprise of human beings. 'hile human beings& natural instinct is to seek provisions for ourselves, and even comfort or status, it&s important for us to remember that our possessions are ust obects. !hey can be broken, lost and traded to other people and cannot

dictate who we are or our self-worth. 0etting lost in a cycle of attainment is dangerous because it blinds us from the things that are most resilient about human beings / personality and individuality. !his continues until it&s too late. 1o one can deny the 2eeting nature of life, so while enterprise and riches can provide us with oy, its importance should not be overstated.