American Cultural Values Individualism and Materialism
Individualism and Materialism Individualism emphasizes the importance of the individual’s interests rather than the interests of the group. Individualism is not a social process, but a belief to act in a certain way. Individualism refers to personal freedom and individual autonomy. Individualism also focuses on self-development as the basic guidelines in all kinds of decisions. Likewise, materialism highlights the value that is placed on each individual to acquire wealth and material goods. Competitiveness, greed and unhappiness are the three key outcomes that are produced as a result of our American cultural values of individualism and materialism. The cultural values of individualism and materialism are manifested in our media. The advertisers’ message regarding what will make us happy has crept into our lives and shaped our values. ... As a result of this, certain American values and attitudes are distorted to the point of foolishness. ... Competitiveness, the first effect produced as a result of our American cultural values creates unkindness between folks. In the workplace, individualism is a disadvantage because of the unfriendly environment that competition creates.