Materialism: attention to or emphasis on material objects, needs or considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual values. The acquisition of material has been equated with happiness in this country. This is true today, and it was true during the 1920's, the setting of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. That the majority of Americans believe that wealth and happiness are the same is a result of our market economy that encourages consumption …showed first 75 words of 1073 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1073 total…Scribner's Sons, 1925. Kasser, Tim, and Richard M. Ryan. 'A Dark Side of the American Dream: Correlates of Financial Success as a Central Life Aspiration.' Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 65.2 (1993): 410-13. Lerner, Michael. 'Gurus of Cynicism vs. the Politics of Meaning.' Houston Chronicle 24 June 1993, 2 star ed.: B11. Montagu, Ashley. Touching. 2nd ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1978. Schmookler, Andrew Bard. 'The Insatiable Society: Materialistic Values and Human Needs.' The Futurist July 1991: 17-23.