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Introduction
Today’s culture has been greatly affected by people who are disposed in material gain
and believe that wealth can help them do anything, which is the condition referred to as
affluenza. Throughout history, such people have been in existence and besides facing critics,
they have found their way up to the current day (James 123). Moreover, people affected by
this condition tend to have defense mechanisms that aid them to cover up their own actions
of gaining great developments through effort in an easy way. However, the culture is set to
such episodes of living where reliance on time to tell what should be used and at what time is
predominant, and people end up discarding items that are befitting for them but portray a
wrong message of who they think they are. This shows that the culture that people shaped
encourages affluenza, from day-to-day living standards but the condition is unconscious and
impact greatly on the society and make people feel unequal (De Graaf, 224). The question
then remains is whether people want to live with affluenza regardless of its shortcomings, or
should they employ methods of reducing and even eradicating it? The method of coming
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back to senses and living in a sharing economy is effective in helping to cure affluenza but it
Supporting Argument
Affluenza has a direct impact on a person’s senses and logic and therefore, changes
people perceptions of what they want and the reason they want it. Harper and Jones (140),
explains that people need to get it as a moral challenge of staying in line with the
that support ethical considerations expected of them by the society. This can then help in
making human beings have moral uprightness and make them consider the shortcomings
which are expected to accompany affluenza, including unanimity, consumerism and even
gluttony which can result in negative relations amongst people. Moreover, it is disappointing
to notice that what other people gain by struggling is might not end up helping them. An
example is a country that has citizens who work hard to raise their living standards but the
government introduces heavy taxes that deprive these people of their financial gains. In other
cases, the wealthy benefit from the poor through grafts and dishonesty means. This has been
the result of the rich feeling discontented by what they have, so they pursue to acquire what
they think they lack through their wealth influence or any dishonesty means. Such trends
make affluenza to systematically reoccur generation after the other. Thus, it is blatantly
apparent that people have been their own problems and main causes of societal problems, in
this case, affluenza. People are, therefore, the main channels through which solutions and
cure for affluenza can be found since they can obviously reduce or even eradicate the
From a well though perspective of looking at nature, it is evident that people have
been the main enemies of nature development, by struggling to take all that they find worth a
positive gain to an individual and by using what nature provides freely, in exchange of
money or goods, thus creating an easy channel to riches (Gerhardt 1). Hence, besides the
efforts to cure affluenza, it is good to keep what already is there, so as to avoid what can be
brought that did not exist initially. Natural remedies, be they small or large need to be kept in
place and even stern regulations placed with repulsions in protecting the nature (De Graaf, et
al., 181). The results of preserving nature are quite fruitful keeping in mind that nature is the
Counter-argument
satisfaction based on culture and definite symbols of communication is still the main drive in
the current world (De Graaf et al., 125). People are supposed to get civilized more so, on the
part of satisfaction and stratification, which then enhance them to be contended in what they
have, and avoid using available commodities to benefit themselves in growing their social
class, as well as reducing gluttony in rich people who want to gain goods and services easily
without struggling or using any efforts as compared to the regular commoner (Hamilton,
p.1). This can then help to assist in promoting harmony between people of different social
classes thus fostering worldwide peace. A strategy of always getting contented in all that
people gain and taking it as an achievement, as well as avoiding easy gain of material
people trying to play a major role in making sure that affluenza has been eradicated. This can
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effectively aid in changing people’s perception of social class and material gain, resulting in
Conclusion
In summation, people need to come back to their own senses and internalize the side
effects of their desires to acquire property easily in the so-called ‘legal means’ as rich people
suffering from affluenza condition, try to justify themselves on their actions. They should
thus stow themselves in their own hands and compare both the weights of staying in the side
of consumerism and the side of learning and gaining from experience with employed efforts
of gaining what they later want to refer to as ‘theirs’. Through playing as role models in the
current generation, the subsequent generation will copy from what would have been done
and try to expand and work on the strategies that would have so far been employed in dealing
with and eradicating the unworthy condition of affluenza. More researches should thus be
encouraged so as to find more possible stratagems and cures of dealing with the condition of
staying at a comfort zone, and try to gain access to goods and services increasingly so as to
gain higher social and economic statuses. Critics should focus more on such people to instill
Works Cited
De Graaf, John, David Wann, and Thomas H. Naylor. Affluenza: How Overconsumption Is
Gerhardt, Sue. "The selfish society." how we all love one another and made money instead,
2009.
Harper, Ian, and Eric Jones. "Treating ‘Affluenza’: The Moral Challenge of Affluence."
James, Oliver. The selfish capitalist: origins of affluenza. Random House, 2008.