‘Materialism’ and Alienation

A considerable number of scholars agree that the domination of capital, which prevails not yet on the socio-economic order but also on the production of ideas and ideologies, is responsible for the fragmentation of cultures ensuing from the destruction of human bloods and interaction. The latter arises from the permeation of capitalism into the pry systems, and, as suggested by Buber, ultimately creating the I-It relationship, in which individuals identify increasingly with actual goods, or derive their whiz of fulfillment from consuming goods and the symbols attached to these, rather than the I-thou relationship or the cultivation of meaningful relationships with their fellow individuals.As individuals seek their sense of being from consumption, they are alienated more than and more from society, which scholars such as Kasser (2003) suggests would chasten into the loss of meaning in ones life and the frustration that goes with it. This frustration is reinforced by societal st andards that put premium all over the accretion of material wealth over non-material fulfillment.The Pursuit of Money, Depression, and AlienationThis is illustrated in the life story of C.P. Ellis, a man driven to join the Klu Klux Klan by his frustration over their familys impoverishment and his own insecurity over being a low-income, white American, and his transformation into a contented labor meat organizer despite. natural into a poor family, Ellis depression over his and his familys financial view started from being perceived by others as poor and impoverished in his childhood, as reflected by the way he felt people treated him and his fall in somebody looking at him and making fun of him and making fun of me.His fathers unhappiness mirror the same unhappiness that characterized Ellis life as he struggled to make ends meet for his own family later on, to work, never a side reliable day without work, worked all the overtime I could get. Ellis predicament, according to K asser (2003), is typical of people who strongly value the pursuit of wealth and possessions. Kasser notes that these people report lower psychological well-being than those who are less concerned with such aims. Not surprisingly, Ellis earlier experiences wherein his concern and frustration over financial freedom is marked by the absence of a social life and of meaningful interactions with people as his life is taken over by the need to his above his socio-economic status.This makes him unable to see people beyond the labels and the propaganda, and also illustrate the attraction of the Ku Klux Klan to white, low-income individuals. Thus, Ellis motivation for joining the Ku Klux Klan, is his resentment and bitterness to his inability to move up the rungs of the economic and social ladder.Racist Organizations and the Reinforcement of complaisant IsolationThe Ku Klux Klan, as a group that presents itself as the savior of the white race, also contains within itself the racist symbols of being superior, a superiority complex that is ground on the skin color of being white. The Ku Klux Klan therefore presents an opportunity to feel advocate in another way, by vowing to uphold the purity of the white race, interlocking communism, and protect white womanhood. .For C.P. Ellis, the moment of empowerment is his being exalted Cyclops of the Klan but it is merely an extension of his yearning for a higher social status Heres a guy whos worked all his life and struggled all his life to be something, and heres the moment to be something.However, the Klu Klux Klan does not give its members a sense of fulfillment that is based on being able to cultivate a meaningful relationship between its members, but reinforces the closing off of another marginalized sector of societythe black people. Moreover, the Klans power is based not on the empowerment of the sector it represents On the contrary, it blurs its members ability to recognize the real problems of social inequality by c uriously turning to the blacks as a channel for the dissipation of its anger. While Ellis is interested in the Klan for its sense of belonging, he was more drawn to the aspect of being in controlsomething that, while he clearly could not achieve by being poor, he could at to the lowest degree exercise on people deemed to be inferior by society.Ellis, however, was not intent on deriving meaning from the sort associated with spirituality and religion domicile life, relationships, and familyhaving fun and excitementand contributing to the community (Kasser 2003). He was merely looking for a scapegoat to focus his resentment on, from which he thought he could run across the large number of possible goals people might have, such as desires to feel safe and secure, to help the world be a better place, to have a great sex life, and to have good relationships with other. (Kasser 2003) In this phase of his life, Ellis therefore retains the I-it relationship in his life suggested by Buber t hrough his remaining reversion with material wealth and the social status that comes with it.Transformation, Empowerment, and RedemptionIronically, C.P. Ellis genuine empowerment would come not from material success but from disillusionment with the false power of the Klu Klux Klan and subsequent transformation into a man who recognized that people were more than their skin color. This would come from his reluctant involvement with the efforts to minimize racial discrimination in which he was forced to work with Ann Atwatera black civil rights advocateto pursue a better school system for their children. Ellis transformation would not be easy, however, and it would only come with the realization that those who had economic and governmental power were using the rift between the blacks and the whites to further their own agendas As long as they unbroken low-income whites and low income blacks fighting, theyre gonna maintain control.This realization would preclude his transformation as he knew more about the relationship between economic status and political power, and as he realized the importance of solidarity with his fellow poor The whole world was opening up , and I was learning new truths that I had never learned before. I was beginning to look at a black person, shake hands with him, and see him as a human being. The attainment of wealth would grow less and less for C. P. Ellis as he discovered that although material things were important to people, individuals should not let it rule their lives.Consequently, Ellis concern on the goals of the labor union with which he would be involved in later, would give him more happiness and fulfillment, his sense of self mirroring the state attained by people motivated by growth, meaning, and aesthetics, rather than by insecurity and the attempt to fit in with what other people expect (Kasser, 2003). Ellis life and general direction is now a plain contrast to the sense of low well-being, high distress, and difficul ty adjusting to life (Kasser, 2003) that he experienced earlier in his life when his sense of self was anchored on material possessions.C.P. Ellis life and experience therefore reflects the dangers of material wealth as a central figure in ones life. It provides a concrete caseful of one mans transcendence over the alienation that people in a highly consumerist and materialist society experiences, and illustrates the importance of establishing an I-Thou basis of our identity and sense of self rather than anchoring our lives to the pursuit of financial gains. More importantly, it shows how having control on ones life will not be achieved solely by having financial control, but by being able to appease our conscience, and striving for the higher ideals of humanity.