Western society has an obsession. It's a dark and paralyzing fixation. Many people don't even realize the trap society has lured them into. The provision of material wealth has become an obsession in modern Western culture. The culture has become obsessed with acquiring large amounts of wealth and anything associated with “being rich.” This need for material objects has intensified over time. The progression of materialism in the Western world has caused a decrease in the happiness and overall well-being of people residing in society. Materialism as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “a doctrine that the only or highest values ​​or goals lie in material well-being and the promotion of material progress.” Cuing Consumerism, an article from the Association for Psychological Science, defines materialism as “a value system that is concerned with possessions and the social image they project” (Bauer, Wilkie, Kim, & Bodenhausen, p. 518). There are several definitions of what exactly materialism is. What all definitions have in common is that materialism is an obsession with possessing physical possessions. The human desire for physical goods is a valid need. Human beings require certain psychic objects to survive. Having assets such as adequate food, shelter, water, and clothing is necessary for human survival. If humans had not wanted to satisfy our basic needs, it is likely that we would have become extinct thousands of years ago. It's only when that need becomes too much and an obsession that it becomes problematic. Materialism has been a problem in Western society for a millennium. The human capacity for greed knows no limits. Looking at historical examples or...... middle of paper ...... ether. Works Cited1. Osvaldo, Andrea. "Rich in misery." New Scientist 193.2588 (2007): 44-45. Print.2. Madeline Devine. “How Materialism Hurts Our Children: Privilege” Tikkun.org (2007). 34-383. Burroughs, James E. and Aric Rindfleisch. “Materialism and well-being: a contrasting values ​​perspective.” Journal of Consumer Research 29.3 (2002): 348-70. Print.4. Terry Nichols Clark. “Is materialism on the rise in America?” Social Sciences and Public Policy (2000). 47-485. A. Bauer, James E. B. Wilkie, Jung K. Kim, and Galen V. Bodenhausen. “Spotting consumerism: Situational materialism undermines personal and social well-being.” Psychological Science: (2012). 518-5296. Andrew M. Baker, George P Moschis, Fon Sim Ong and Ra-Pee Pattanapanyasat. “Materialism and life satisfaction: the role of stress and religiosity.” The Journal of Consumer Affairs(2013). 549-562