The Influence Of Materialism In Germany

Although Germany’s gross domestic product remains high due to successful exports and a large population of producers and consumers, German spending trends reflect a transition away from materialism. This trend has historical roots, such as the Nazi era, when leaders promoted a similar mentality of abstaining from material luxuries in order to eliminate the concern of selfishness. Instead, Nazi leaders encouraged citizens to value their nation above all else. After enduring various forms of restrictive oppression throughout the greater portion of the 20th century, Germany’s reunification in 1990 established a tone of justice and greater individual freedom. At that time, Germans found themselves in a position to engage in extravagant purchases …show more content…
Russell Belk, a research professor focused on marketing and consumer trends, analyzed the relationship between these terms and explained that materialism is not strictly identified as “the act of consuming things, but the way that we regard such consumption.” Consumption, a vital element in sustaining a lively economy, allows for the exchange of specialized goods and skills, and therefore is an ineliminable element in the modern world. Materialism, however, goes beyond mere consumption and implies excessive consumer desire (Belk). While consumption functions on the basis of necessity, materialism emerges from lustful impulse. Additionally, Marieke de Mooij, a Ph.D. recipient in Communications focused on the influence of culture on consumer behavior, provides a more specific definition: materialism is achieving a sense of bliss from acquiring and possessing things due to “the importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions” (118). Based upon this definition, the intensity of materialism may vary, and its duration within a person or society does not entail any level of permanence. While it is necessary and inevitable that consumption remain, materialism, in contrast, does not possess a comparable …show more content…
Belk, however, asserts this notion is a grave misunderstanding: “[S]tudies attempting to measure how materialistic different people are consistently show that more materialistic people are not as happy and satisfied with their lives as less materialistic people.” Ranked the lowest on materialism amongst Europeans, Germans do not associate a connection between their happiness and material goods. Rather, Germans’ associate their happiness with intangible means that money cannot acquire. Specifically, as Mooij details, studies indicate that Germans relate happiness to stability and social security (118), elements that are the antithesis of materialism. A study further pursuing this assertion surveyed citizens in a variety of countries, including Germany, and posed two true or false statements: “I measure my success by the things I own” and “I feel under pressure to be successful and make money” (Clark and Duffy). The results identified Germany as falling below the global average, indicating that German citizens, in comparison to other countries in this study, place less societal value on the acquisition of material possessions. Simply put, Germans statistically exhibit smaller urges to engage in materialism, and resultantly associate their central values with intangible