Marx mentions, "Private property has made us so stupid and one-sided that an object is only ours when we have it -- when it exists for us as capital, or when it is directly possessed, eaten, drunk, worn, inhabited, etc. -- in short, when it is used by us." (87). This sentence made me think of materialism. Mere objects (e.g. designer bags, big flat-screened televisions, etc) and activities (e.g. dining in a 5-star restaurant, traveling to an exotic location for vacation, etc.) in life has come to define us as humans. Judgement is made by your physical appearance-- what/ who you are wearing. It's the first thing people take in to account -- when you're meeting a new acquaintance, when you're being interviewed for a prospective job.

These materials we purchase transform one's appearance instantly. It is similar to how Marx explains the power of money. Money can change ugliness into beauty and idiocy into intelligence. We all work hard in order to gain the money to purchase the materials to change our lives. We lose ourselves into these meaningless items. We work hard to obtain our wishes to change our realities from "poverty" to splendor. Marx mentions it briefly on page 104. It makes me think of the saying, "Money doesn't buy happiness". So many people say that... but we are all living in a world where our minds circulate only around money. If we don't have money, we stress and worry. When we do have money, we laugh and relax.

So... does money buy happiness...? Happiness seems to be defined by our current society as luxury goods...

Is it worth losing our true selves to work to gain money... in order to obtain what society calls happiness?