Affluenza The new illness in Australia by Clive Hamilton Free Essay Example, 1000 words

One positive aspect of Hamilton s article is that it supports the premises made by the writer with relevant and appropriate data. First Hamilton argues that the innate aspirations of the Australians often fail to match their real financial achievements. Once Hamilton makes this assertion, he supports his argument by quoting the related data showing that people often intrinsically correlate their financial aspirations with the financial status of others instead of their actual requirements. For example, Hamilton states that contemporary Australians tend to be more affluent as far as their possessions are concerned. Then he goes on to support this premise by presenting the historical data, which amply proves that the premises of Australian masses are more spacious and well equipped than those of their predecessors. In this context, Hamilton definitely intends to elaborate on the repercussions of Affluenza, as John de Graff does in his book Affluenza . He comes down on materialism in the same vein as Tim Kasser does in his book The High Price of Materialism . Hamilton also quotes data gathered from the Australian gadgets markets to reveal how the market forces play on the discontent of the Australians to make them buy modern gadgets and accessories. Despite presenting the real data, Hamilton s article is not convincing because he fails to support his assertions with apt scientific and psychological facts. The most obvious weakness of this article is that though Hamilton presents ample data, he mostly tries to interpret the factual evidence in the light of his personal beliefs and intentions. We will write a custom essay sample on Affluenza: The new illness in Australia by Clive Hamilton or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page