Cain OrmondroydCain Ormondroyd is a barrister, based in London, UK.

Have you got Affluenza? Symptoms: too many possessions, an unhealthy obsession with Hello magazine and a marked increase in emotional distress. Those in the English speaking West are most at risk, according to Oliver James, author of Affluenza and its sequel, The Selfish Capitalist.

The cause of the disease, says James, is not a microbe, but an idea: materialism. This means “placing too high a value on money, possessions, appearances and fame”. It distracts people from meeting their real needs – the basic human needs for relationships, meaningful work and so on. The result is a large increase in the amount of emotional distress/mental illness in the English speaking world since the 1970s.

What then is the cure?

Dr James prescribes a more ‘unselfish Capitalism’ based on the European model, with more emphasis in particular on allowing parents to care for their own children. As an overworked lawyer and aspiring house-husband, I couldn’t agree more. Good luck to him.

But is something more needed? It really depends what you mean by materialism.

1) Materialism as a way of life

This is what the book is addressing. We all know people who are dazzled by wealth and fame, overly keen on the good things in life or somewhat addicted to being the centre of attention. I used to take great pleasure in spotting these people until I woke up to the terrible realisation that I was one of them. Wealth, comfort and attractiveness – all good things but in my experience they do not bring happiness if pursued for their own sake. The more times a day I check my growing bank balance (remember I said I was a lawyer?) the less happy I seem to be with my life as it is.

No wonder there is an increase in emotional distress when “money, possession, appearances and fame” become our society’s main or only goal.

2) Materialism as a philosophy or world view

The books single out the English speaking world since the 1970s as particularly ‘materialist’. But on a broader view, the whole 20th century was a materialistic age in the West. The dominant modern Western worldview was a materialistic one in that it says we are alone in the world. Nothing but the superficially visible and scientifically measurable is real. There is no God and spirituality is an illusion – or is simply a private matter with no place in public life or discussion.

Ultimately even ‘unselfish Capitalism‘ is materialistic in this sense. It‘s all about changing the material circumstances of life. I think it would be beneficial - but is it enough to really deal with the problems identified?

I was a materialist in this sense until a few years ago. I did not consciously idolise money, possessions, appearances or fame. I thought of myself as a cross between Karl Marx and Captain Planet, so I rejected ‘Selfish Capitalism’ in the strongest terms. I lived a life full of meaningful work, surrounded by friends, with plenty of time to spend with my family. But I increasingly found that I couldn’t get on with my family, or help my friends, and that the work was a channel for my own pride and competitiveness. Unhappiness was one result.

I had great plans for society, but no real alternative to materialism in my own life.

A spiritual dimension provided the alternative. ‘Spiritual’ is an overused word - meaning anything from Christ to crystals - but in my case it meant a decision to live in the light of God’s moral standards and be guided by God’s Spirit. A decision, in short, to follow Jesus.

I sat down to consider my life against the standards of absolute honesty, purity, unselfishness and love and quickly saw where I had been going wrong. A daily time of prayer and quiet listening for God’s guidance helped me to put it right (this took rather longer!). The result is that my family relationships have been transformed, and I have guidance on what route to take in my work which, if I follow it, offers a real alternative to my old self-centred approach.

3) Materialism as opposed to dualism

I found that without a spiritual dimension to life, favourable material conditions are not enough. But does that mean that spirituality is all that matters?

Archbishop William Temple once said that Christianity is the most materialistic of all the great world religions. As a Christian, I believe that this world is not a second best reality, from which we need to escape into a purely spiritual realm. It is God’s good creation – spoiled to an extent by evil and decay but waiting to be gloriously restored. Others may express this idea differently or have other, equally useful, ways of approaching the issue.

In other words, the material world matters! Religion (for Christians) is not about being other worldly or life denying. Nor is it a matter of saving souls only and letting the world go to hell in a handcart. The world does matter, and God will surely expect us to account for how we have used God’s good creation.

For those of us who live in the West (particularly the English speaking West) this must be a chilling prospect. We are apparently so obsessed with money, possessions and fame that we have created a new social disease, Affluenza, to spread through our societies. In the meantime, as the recent wrangling in Copenhagen shows, we have little time or thought to spare for a just distribution of resources or a caring treatment of the natural environment.

My New Year’s resolutions? To be less motivated by money, possessions and fame. To spend more time in quiet, asking for God’s correction and direction. To do my part to bring that experience to others in need of it. To work with them for a material world of justice, peace and love.

NOTE: Individuals of many cultures, nationalities, religions, and beliefs are actively involved with Initiatives of Change. These commentaries represent the views of the writer and not necessarily those of Initiatives of Change as a whole.