> > So in our culture, where needs are very easily met for even the poorest among us, what are we meant to do?
> >
> There's nothing wrong with wanting material items. I and every other normal person on the planet do it every day. The key word is <i>immoderate</i>. Everything needs to be balanced and put into perspective. If someone thinks that their life will be miserable forever if they don't get that one fancy toy, then they have a problem.

So there's a huge quantity of people in this country who honestly believe that without, say, an iPod, their whole lives will be miserable forever. This is what you're saying? And you expect me to believe this based on what evidence, now? I'm sorry, but a claim that absurd is going to take some backing up.

> >> However, I know that more material objects will not make my life any better than it already is.
> >>
> >Yeah, I know that's trendy, but why is it necessarily true? I can think of a *lot* of ways in which my life could be improved by material objects, and I don't believe you're so well-off that yours could not.
> >
> I'm not saying that I'll never get another material object in my lifetime, but those objects will not make my life any better than it is now. Will they make my life a tiny bit more pleasureable? For a little while, yes, until the novelty wears off and I desire another item. Will they make my life easier? Probably.

So an object can make your life easier and more pleasurable, but not better. Well, I must admit, you're jumping through some pretty flimsy semantic hoops on this one. I'd bet that most people would agree that if their lives were made easier and more enjoyable they *would* in fact find that to be better. Maybe that makes all the rest of us these horrid "materialists" you keep complaining about. On the other hand, maybe it just makes us sensible and honest.

> Will they increase the value of my life, make me feel better about myself, and change the way I look at the world forever? No. Material items do not hold that power. Every single defining moment in my life that has made me who I am today has been shaped by non-material things. I have gotten some fleeting enjoyment from material items, but they have not improved my life.

Okay, we'll take this one step at a time. First off, you're throwing around this "value of life" concept with no explanation at all. You've made it perfectly clear that the value of your life is in no way tied to ease or enjoyment. So then what is it? Next up: feeling good about yourself. So being wealthy and having "things" doesn't make you feel better about yourself. How is this in any way superior to the alternative?

But more interesting to me is your odd comment about "changing the way you look at the world forever." Why on earth would anything need to do that in order to count as making your life better? I know a lot of ways to improve things without fundamentally changing the way they function, you know. If I add more RAM to my computer, for example, it gets better. It does not, mind you, start functioning in an entirely different way, nor does this amount to some type of milestone in the grand history of computing. But it's improved. It seems to me that perhaps you should take time out from lecturing people on keeping their materialism "in perspective" and learn a bit of perspective yourself. It doesn't have to be a sea change to be a good thing, you know.

"I have gotten some fleeting enjoyment from material items, but they have not improved my life," you say. Again, then, what would be your definition of "improving" your life if adding enjoyment doesn't fit?