Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau believed that in order to live well, we must reduce the number of material goods we have. Otherwise, these things begin to dominate us. Take a position on this and explain

I agree with Thoreau, I think that there are way too many material goods. People have based their lives on material goods. Everyone is always talking about their laptops or their new smart phones. In high school everything is based on what you have and not on what kind of person you are. If you have nice things than you are more accepted than the people that don’t have nice things. Material goods completely control how people act; it’s almost as if they dominate people’s personalities more than anything else.

To be able to say that your living well is now based on what you have and what has been bought for you. It’s not about if you’re happy or not. It’s not about your family or your friends. People let what they have decide whether or not they are going to bed happy. I think that everyone could reduce the number of material goods they have. But most people wouldn’t know what to do without their computer, cell phone, expensive shores, or expensive purses.