Does money buy happiness? For years, social scientists knew relatively little about this important question. Now that has changed. On the basis of more than a decade's worth of original research, Tim Kasser provides a powerful answer—materialism undermines human well-being. The High Price of Materialism is a path-breaking work that suggests a fundamental rethinking of our values, behaviors, and economic structures. Deserves the widest possible readership.
Juliet Schor, Professor of Sociology, Boston College; author of The Overworked American
An excellent, thorough, insightful examination of object hedonism and its psychological costs. Well-written to boot.
Amitai Etzioni, University Professor, George Washington University and author of The Monochrome Society
What an irony: Lusting for and getting what we want—more—does not, in the long run, make middle class folks happier. Seeking ever more affluence exacts both environmental and psychic costs. So why not dream a new American dream, asks Kasser in this provocative and practical book—one focused more on meaning than money, and more on connection than consumption.
David G. Myers, Professor of Psychology, Hope College and author of The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty
It is rare that a book combines insightful scholarship, rigorous research, passionate involvement in its subject, and a focus on a topic of true importance to the human condition. In his careful, caring, and constructive examination of materialism, Tim Kasser has created a brilliant analysis of a growing problem and its possible solutions.
Russell W. Belk, N. Eldon Tanner Professor, David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah
A much-needed scholarly analysis of the psychological factors surrounding materialism in contemporary America.
Marsha L. Richins, College of Business, University of Missouri, Columbia
Tim Kasser's book nails the whopping lie at the heart of our civilization: the belief that having more money and the things that money buys makes us happier. The truth, as he demonstrates so comprehensively and thoroughly, is that materialism breeds, not happiness, but dissatisfaction, depression, anxiety, anger, isolation, and alienation. The importance of Kasser's message is difficult to overestimate; it reaches beyond our personal lives to the world situation. The global economy requires for its continued stability and growth that those of us in the West—and Americans especially—consume more and more. A vast media-marketing-advertising industrial complex serves this purpose. As a result of the consumer binge, our individual health suffers, social cohesion declines, and the biosphere is degraded. Reversing these trends means changing what we consider to be right, good, and important. Tim Kasser's book will add to the gathering momentum for achieving this fundamental shift in values.
Richard Eckersley, Fellow, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University
A valuable critique of material culture, with facts and surveys making the case that the true source of happiness comes from non-material pleasures.
Betsy Taylor, President, New American Dream and author of Sustainable Planet
