There is more than stuff.

I’m surprised that in some way I’m sorry Pope John Paul II died. I’m not catholic, the closest I’ve ever got to there was that I was raised in a protestant church. For those of you who just said same difference, they’re not the same. Comparing a catholic and a protestant is like comparing a New Yorker and a Midwesterner. They both look up (or down as the case may be.) to the same government, media, etc. But really its a miracle Kansas and New York City are in the same country, let alone the same continent.

But one of the senses of loss is from knowing that we’ve lost a man who understood the nuances and downsides to both communism and capitalism. John Paul is credited with assisting with the downfall of communism. But, he also preached against excessive materialism.

I bought an iPod mini two Sundays ago. I felt, and to a lesser extent feel guilty for buying it. Why? Its not something I can justify as a necessity. Its a thing, a good, a slip into the trap of materialism.

I wonder if those who own huge mansions.. err houses are in general happy? (From a statistics standpoint they’re no happier than the next man.) See the thing is I’ve been there. I used to live in a $200,000 house (in the midwest) and quite frankly as a whole we were miserable.

I often wonder what people who make $43,000, $60,000 or $100,000 or $200,000 a year do with all that money? Its one thing if you’re raising kids and saving for retirement. But I’m convinced that I would do fine making $30-35k. I’m making about $25,000 a year and with the exception of some hefty debt payments (left over from when I spent more than I earned.) I’m really doing quite well.

What I worry about is that materialism leads to a sense of entitlement, i.e. “I earned the money to buy it, so its my right to buy it.” Related to this is “My job is worth this much to the company so I’m entitled to make at least that much.” This whole line of reasoning denies the interdependence that we all share. Its nearly impossible today to be purely independent. Every profession relies upon other professions and each of us is ultimately dependent on one and other. Additionally by being purely money driven you deny other benefits not to mention that a job well done should be its own reward.

Back to the Pope. I’d love to believe that perfect communism would work. Unfortunately communism fails to account for the varied intents of people. Capitalism leads to materialism and ultimately greed. (e.g. Worldcom, Enron — Both of these companies could have been perfectly ethical, profitable ventures, instead unchecked greed led to massive fraud and ultimately collapse.)

What does this mean for an individual? Simple, there are more things to the word than money and greed (while it sometimes can be a positive motivator) ultimately greed has costs that outweigh any money that you could earn.

Now time to go home and practice some discardia