This collection of 50 materialism quotes delve deep into the fact that things don’t necessarily make us happy. If you’re someone who is trying to live a minimal life or someone who is addicted to consumerism but not feeling happier, as a result, these quotations are for you. In a very material world, with marketing everywhere, it is hard to imagine a life without things – but this could be the key to happiness!
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1. “When you lose your desire for things that do not matter, you will be free.” – Morihei Ueshiba
2. “Materialism is the only form of distraction from true bliss.” – Douglas Horton
3. “Life is more than just acquiring stuff that won’t even matter when you die.”– Samuel Zulu
4. “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace.” – John Lennon
5. “In age of consumerism and materialism, I traffic in blue sky and colored air.” – James Turrell
6. “Be not anxious! Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can provide security and freedom from anxiety. Yet all the time they are the very source of all anxiety.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
7. “I always prided myself on the fact that I could live out of milk crates forever. It was kind of my way of detaching from materialism.” – Kerry Washington
8. “Sadly, materialism instead of true love has become a benchmark most people choose to be or stay in a relationship with someone.” – Samuel Zulu
9. “The folly of endless consumerism sends us on a wild goose-chase for happiness through materialism”-Bryant H. McGill
Check out Happiness Quotes for more insight in to what can make you happy outside of things.
10. “Like Gandhi, my husband had struggled with the issue of materialism.” – Coretta Scott King
11. “Materialism isn’t the panacea that so many people think it is.” – Pernell R
12. “Sadly, materialism instead of true love has become a benchmark most people choose to be or stay in a relationship with someone.” – Samuel Zulu
13. “Individually, people are finding that a simpler lifestyle provides greater satisfaction than relentless pursuit of materialism.” – Laurance Rockefeller
14. “As I stare at it,I can feel little invisible strings, silently tugging me toward it. I have to touch it. I have to wear it. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” – Sophie Kinsella
15. “Materialism is an identity crisis.” – Bryant H. McGill
16. “It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” – Bertrand Russell.
17. “We live in a materialist world, and materialism appeals so strongly to humanity, no matter where”– Wole Soyinka
18. “Nothing out there will ever satisfy you except temporarily and superficially, but you may need to experience many disillusionments before you realize that truth.” – Eckhart Tolle
19. “That feeling of freedom, open highways of possibilities, has kind of been lost to materialism and marketing.” – Sheryl Crow
Rather than buying more things, why not practice gratitude with the help of these Gratitude Quotes
20. “Why ask for your daily bread when you own the bakery?” – Randy Alcorn.
21. “Materialism coarsens and petrifies everything, making everything vulgar, and every truth false.” – Henri-Frédéric Amiel
22. “An attitude to life which seeks fulfillment in the single-minded pursuit of wealth – in short, materialism – does not fit into this world, because it contains within itself no limiting principle, while the environment in which it is placed is strictly limited.” – E. F. Schumacher
23. “The one single use of things which we call our own is that they might be his who hath need of them.” – Thomas Hughes.
24. “We live in a world of things, and our only connection with them is that we know how to manipulate or to consume them.” – Erich Fromm
25. “The things you own end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything that you’re free to do anything.” – Chuck Palahniuk
26. “A materialistic world will not be won to Christ by a materialistic church.” –David Platt.
27. “When we think about the trends that millennials are taking toward simplicity, I think it’s indicative of a cultural shift toward less of the ‘more is more’ for materialism sake and more of an emphasis on efficiency, value, and sustainability.” – Bobby Berk
28. “Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment.” – Mark Twain
29. “Material’ is meant to be a fun, lighthearted song about the tiny bit of materialism that’s in all of us. The message is meant to translate the notion that you don’t need luxury items to feel special; you already are special.” – Yuna
30. “Rich men use most of their money to get richer. Poor men use most of their money to look richer.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
Cutting down on materialistic spending may also help the planet – if you care about the planet, check out Environment Slogans
31. “I try to educate people about materialism through my work. I try to show them real visual luxury.” – Jeff Koons
32. “Acquisition means life to miserable mortals.” – Hesiod
33. “Our chief comforts often produce our greatest anxieties, and the increase in our possessions is but an inlet to new disquietudes.” – Oliver Goldsmith
34. “I’d much rather buy an experience than something I can possess in the material world” – Ashly Lorenzana
35. “It is a law in the universe that a wave of spiritual awakening is always followed by a period of doubting materialism, each phase is necessary in order that the spirit may receive equal development of heart and intellect without being carried too far in either direction.” – Max Heindel
36. “It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly.” – Bertrand Russell
37. “The only time you look in your neighbor’s bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don’t look in your neighbor’s bowl to see if you have as much as them.” – Louis C.K
38. “Materialism is the philosophy of the subject who forgets to take account of himself.” – Schopenhauer
39. “When a culture has fallen totally away from spiritual pursuits into materialism, one must begin by demonstrating they are each a soul, not a material animal.” – L. Ron Hubbard
40. “There is one advantage to having nothing, it never needs repair.” – Frank A. Clark
41. “Materialism is decadent and degenerates only if the spirit of the nation has withered and if individual people are so unimaginative that they wallow in it.” – Brooks Atkinson
42. “If materialistic knowledge is the power it is not wisdom. It is but a blind force.” – Mary Baker Eddy
43. “The chief difficulty which prevents men of science from believing in divine as well as in nature Spirits is their materialism.” – Helena Blavatsky
44. “The most common ego identifications have to do with possessions, the work you do, social status and recognition, knowledge and education, physical appearance, special abilities, relationships, personal and family history, belief systems, and often also political, nationalistic, racial, religious, and other collective identifications. None of these is you.”- Eckhart Tolle
45. “A lot of people get so hung up on what they can’t have that they don’t think for a second about whether they really want it.” – Lionel Shriver
46. “Materialism is toxic to happiness and we are losing our connection to the natural world.”- James Gustav Speth.
47. “Each time you go to the grocery store with your kids, it is a potential learning opportunity. In order not to overemphasize materialism, focus on other things to do with money. In ‘Beyond the Lemonade Stand,’ I try to emphasize the importance of saving money, and of using it to help other people.” – Bill Rancic
48. “Our life on earth is, and ought to be, material and carnal. But we have not yet learned to manage our materialism and carnality properly; they are still entangled with the desire for ownership.” – E. M. Forster
49. “These days, in our materialistic culture, many people are led to believe that money is the ultimate source of happiness. Consequently, when they don’t have enough of it they feel let down. Therefore, it is important to let people know that they have the source of contentment and happiness within themselves and that it is related to nurturing our natural inner values.” – Dalai Lama
50. “Increase of material comforts, it may be generally laid down, does not in any way whatsoever conduce to moral growth.” -Mahatma Gandhi
Holly Jaskolka is a certified Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) practitioner, yoga instructor, and an impassioned advocate for holistic well-being. Fueled by her love for animals and wanderlust, Holly leads a plant-based lifestyle that she complements with immersive travel experiences. When she’s not jet-setting to uncover the world’s hidden gems, she’s empowering individuals to heal emotionally, particularly those grappling with the aftermath of breakups. Connect with Holly on LinkedIn.