Why do so many people hoard so much?

Commenting, Hannah wrote:

I have to ask myself: Is the inability to value one’s time (rather than excessive accumulation) simply an inability to accept one’s inevitable departure from this world? Do people who have a desire to live have a natural denial of death, and thus seek to “escape” from their possessions, which are not for all intents and purposes determined to be “immortal” (things do not “die” after all, although they depreciate! )

I don’t think it’s a desire to have things that are beyond us, that is, a way to turn our soul into a blender. Most of the things that are sold and bought today are designed to expire. I’m leaning more towards the idea that people (or rather our culture) haven’t gotten used to everything being so plentiful and available on demand that everyone still collects their toolkit, their library, their car, their home cinema, etc.

I think it’s similar to how people who go through the demographic transition from an underdeveloped area have a lot of children while mature cultures, going through their previous transition generations, have very few children. The reason is that in older and more developed countries having a large number of children is no longer considered a source of financial security, retirement security, cheap work, a good life, or just happiness and joy but rather as a liability.

Obviously there is a lot of overpopulation now and that’s why most people are seen as a liability, but I think we still have to face a change in terms of abundance. The problem is that many people do not see the accumulation of their possessions as a liability, which it actually is in this day and age, but as a source of wealth, which it is no longer.

Open source, freecycling, or even broad “used” markets like amazon or ebay are good examples of this mature attitude towards things.

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First posted 2008-03-05 07:20:48.