The purpose of this research is to examine the conventional wisdom of modern Western society that success and happiness come through material success, with reference to the Marxist critique of capitalist society in general and the ethos of competition in particular. The plan of the research will be to set forth the opposition between certain cultural presumptions in favor of materialism and then to discuss the implications of Marx's preference for an ethos of cooperation over competition.
White makes the case that Western cultural presumptions about the benefits of material success outweigh such abstract features of cultural awareness in the West as love, family, community service, and religion, with mass media conveying the message that "successful" people "make a lot of money and fill their lives with material comforts. . . . In the United States, as long as you have enough money, you are considered successful" (336). The contention that abstract elements of human experience are directly antithetical to material success simply because they belong to an exercise different from its material elements is a tempting one, not least because the evidence of the popular culture is compelling. This explains the tolerance--not to say enthusiasm--with which the popular imagination encounters the spectacle of (say) a white Ford Bronco leading a low-speed chase that disrupts the typical rush-hour behavior of the Southern California freeway system. To put it another way, the mere existence of celebrity and wealth appears to confer a good deal of cachet irrespective of the content of whatever else may be of ultimate importance to human experience.
Yet the evidence of the culture is also that material success does not equate with happiness. Were that the case, the suicides and other self-destructive behavior of the rich and famous would not be noteworthy. Thus, if it is the case, as White (and Marx) indicate, that capitalist culture chooses eve...