论美国文化价值观之对物质财富的追求

论美国文化价值观之对物质财富的追求论美国文化价值观之对物质财富的追求 当谈到文化价值观时 我们会发现不同的国家都有其独特的价值观 美国 也不例外 也有其独特的价值观 其中对物质财富的追求是其传统文化价值观 之一 本文从清教主义 社会和自然环境 以及实用主义哲学等几个方面对美国 人追求物质财富这一传统价值观进行了分析 挖掘其渊源 并从积极和消极两 个方面探讨这一价值观对美国个人及整个国家的影响 并指出对物质财富的追 求应建立在适度及取之有道的基础上 关键词关键词 文化价值观 美国人 物质财富 影响 Introduction To some extent values mean the general and shared conceptions of what is good right appropriate worthwhile and important with regard to modes of conduct and states of existence In other words values are conceptions about how the world and people should be And when refers to the cultural values in different nations we can conclude that different country has its own unique cultural values As the formation of a country s cultural values are affected by many factors such as history religion natural environment economy politics and so on A country s cultural values experience a long historical process Life mode behavior mode and thinking mode of generation after generation all relate to their own distinctive national cultural values That s to say a country s cultural values inevitably affect its people as well as the whole nation The United States like any other countries has its national cultural values But compared with other countries in the world the United States is a quite special one In the specific historical background and broad natural environment of North America some unique American cultural values had come into being gradually The basic American traditional cultural values are individualism equality of opportunity competition and desire for success pursuit material wealth hard working spirit and so on Many Americans still believe in them and are strongly affected by them It is easier to understand what Americans are thinking and feeling if we can understand what these basic traditional American values are and how they have influenced almost every facet of life in the United States Whatever the case among all these values pursuit of material wealth is a very important one Many of the values mentioned above are in one way or another related to the notion of pursuit of material wealth Indeed in many ways the desire for material wealth serves as a driving force for individuals to work hard to keep an upbeat spirit so as to be more competitive and to obtain more material goods to demonstrate the worth of life In this paper the author will analyze the pursuit of material wealth The contents include analysis the cultural origins of American values pursuit of material wealth the influences of this value on American people s life and the whole nation and the conclusion The Origins of Desire for Material Wealth 1 1 The Influence of Puritanism At the beginning of 17th century the first settlers landed on the New Land not only for the religious freedom but also for wealth From then on the Puritans began to influence the whole land and Puritanism was the mainstream of the colonial culture and has greatly influenced the Puritan colonies in North America and then the whole country It was an important factor in the course of forming of American culture and American spirit Its theory of wealth has deeply influenced the attitudes of Americans towards wealth The Puritans insisted that all individuals are left alone before God to improve them or suffer eternal punishment by God for their sinful acts So Protestantism encourages a strong and restless desire for self improvement And the achievement of material success is probably the most widely respected form of self improvement So desire for material wealth in American culture has close relationship with Puritanism believed by initial immigrants Although these immigrants with different aims in order to exist they must possess material wealth as much as they could Protestantism distinguished itself from Roman Catholicism with pragmatic spirit It doesn t agree on afterlife concept of Catholicism and argues that protestant s devoutness should be expressed in earthliness activities So Protestants regard success in earthliness as what is saved from God Wealth is God s reward to the diligent and poverty is God s punishment to the lazy The Puritans believed that people who are blessed by God might be recognized in the world by their material success The Puritan s attitude towards the wealth exists in the American society all the time It becomes the motivation for people to pursuit wealth It is the theory of wealth in Protestantism that makes immigrants in North America even their descendent insist on pursuing substantial wealth And material wealth has traditionally been a widely accepted as the measure of success and social status in the United States 1 2 Unique Social and Natural Environment The United States is a country set up by European immigrants on the base of mature western culture The 17th century is the rising time of European capitalism The early settlers from European also carried the seeds of capitalism when they landed on the North American And it grew well in the North American quickly The development of capitalism influenced the Americans values especially desire for wealth As profit is the life for capitalists But there existed great differences between American capitalism and European For Americans rejected the European system of hereditary aristocracy and titles of nobility In the early years many immigrants chose to leave the older European societies because they believed that they have a better chance succeed in America In the old country their place in life was determined largely by social class into which they were born The lower class had to live among noble families who possessed great power and wealth inherited and accumulated over hundreds of years So it s difficult for the lower class to pursuit material wealth and changes their position though they worked hard There were not hereditary aristocracy and formal class system in the New Land In the North American the quality and quantity of an individual s material possessions became an accepted measure of success and social status Meanwhile special natural environment of North America continent has provided fine earth for Americans to pursuit material wealth Broad and fertile land and abundant natural resources prepare ascendant conditions for immigrants production Along with the development of capitalism desire for material wealth is more and more deeply rooted in North America In the historical background and broad natural environment of North America the pursuit of material wealth becomes one of the most remarkable cultural values This concept grew in particular American social and geographic environment Under American conditions swiftly and clearly there developed a hunger for wealth In America making money has dignity 1 3 Pragmatic Spirit The pragmatism is the most important philosophical concept in the United States And this philosophy has great influence on the Americans first along America s frontiers and later through its remarkable industrial growth Americans are famous for their practicality This is a tradition formed in the initial immigrants experience of conquering the wild For the early settlers though the New Land has broad and fertile land and abundant natural resources nature bestowed on them a difficult rather than comfortable environment In order to exist they had to make full use of the pragmatic spirit to struggle with the wildness They often had to construct their own houses hunted and household items In the history of frontier exploitation the people without efficiency and practicality were often despised by other people Thus directly expressing one s own view and completing one s own business are the basic principle insisted by most Americans Whatever to say the key essence of the pragmatism is emphasis on the final results It s no doubt that possession material wealth is always treated as the standard for judging the results The Americans always pay more attention to the things which they could snatch and can calculate by money Many Americans put material gains above justice in daily life American leaders also keep a pragmatic attitude and their administrative achievements are urged by actual profit brought to citizens by them So Pragmatic Spirit also plays an important role in the formation of desire for wealth The Value s Influences on Individualists and the Nation Indeed in a country like the United States where class status being unfixed the country has for a long time encouraged the notion of identifying one s social status through his achievements rather than through hereditary device To the extent that possession of wealth is a prerequisite for survival The loser is likely to be thrown to the bottom of society So it s not difficult to understand why Americans are keen to pursuit material wealth We can t deny that the pursuit of material wealth has produced many positive results For example it pushes Americans to seek for the best it compels Americans to be original it energizes Americans to move ahead and it gives freshness and vitality to the American society Objectively the desire for wealth as a cultural value has helped the United States to develop its economy and industry The immense joy one can derive from his achievements and the expectation of social appreciation and recognition for what one may accomplish all stem from the strong desire for wealth However it s very difficult for people to keep pursuit of wealth in a proper degree And placing a high value on material possessions is called materialism If they place this value above all else troubles even tragedies may occur One negative consequence is to make personal relationship tense when everyone is trying to crush out his opponents in order to achieve his own success Another one is to build a heavy psychological burden on the part of those who are inflamed with the desire for wealth And finally it tends to develop two kinds of indifference indifference to the preservation of natural resources and indifference to those who fall behind in the race for survival It s no doubt that the cultural values inevitably affect a country s policies including foreign policies The value of pursuit of material wealth is not an exception It gradually melted in American culture and became an important character of American nation It even developed into an embodiment of American national culture in foreign affairs and a reflection of American pursuit of its own interests Expansionism as a foreign policy has been penetrating through the entire American history Whatever it does is for the highest interests of itself In order to accumulate as much wealth as possible the United States takes all kinds of expansion measures such military force economic expansion cultural expansion and so on For its own profits it snatching raw materials from other countries and monopolizing markets of other countries without thinking these countries right and interests For example the Spanish American War occurred in 1898 was waged to protect American interests in Cuba In Asia in 1899 the United States announced the Open Door Policy to China And the United States spends 3 4 of world oil output each year in developing its own industry In order to satisfy the requirement it crazily seizes oil resources from the Middle East and some other districts It practices economic sanction It s also used to interfering with other countries by military force in the name of human rights and so on All of these are determined by present American national interests For the United States comparing with its interests Moral standards and principles are the secondary Just in this way profit and raw materials from overseas markets constantly pour into the United States American economy thus developed to a higher level Although the United States has become the only super power after Cold War it still couldn t win total success For its profits the United States goes against other countries interests and makes enemies all over the world So it meets more and more resistance from other countries For example to some extent the international terrorism is against the American s accumulating wealth by hook or by crook And it will meet more and more troubles and be in dilemma without changing its policy Conclusion Pursuit of material wealth is one marked cultural feature for the American The formation of this cultural value is complex And this cultural value has deeply influenced not only the individuals but also the whole nation We can t deny that desire for material wealth is an important force for the development of the United States However placing a high value on material possessions is called materialism As a coin has two sides there is a dark side to pursuit wealth not for the individual but also for the whole country For the individual there are those feeling unable to success who suffers extreme forms of mental anguish physical and mental illness For the government in the world of fierce competition in