by Jeremy Jameson

Created on: July 01, 2007

I can think of examples that are very apparent in my own American culture:

Celebrities - those viewed as high in society - are always getting into trouble. Not to say that some ordinary, unknown people do not get in as much (if not more) trouble, but celebrity status tends to give many individuals an excessive pride through which they have an attitude of entitlement and superiority - that they could get away with things we could not.

Another example: it is well-documented that one of the byproducts of urbanization is increased crime. Not only does the probability of criminal activity increase when there are more potential criminals in a given area, but also the complexity of urban environments creates more perceived opportunities for those who would like to take advantage of others. Furthermore, it is often easier to find common tools of the criminal (e.g. drugs, guns) in urban environments, just as it is easier to find virtually anything else that sells. As for white-color crimes, corporations tend to be based in cities, and a high-ranking executive may become emboldened by his lofty status in the community and, like the celebrity, trump moral codes.

The general cause of these and other examples is materialism, which is pervasive in highly developed countries such as the US. The more stuff, the more there is for materialists to live for - whether to own or lust after. Focusing primarily on things rather than ideals and people tends to strip the morality from a culture.

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