Education in Possession - how to Achieve Happiness in the Materialistically Oriented World

Abstract

In the article reasons for “education in possession” are introduced. The author defi nes the concept of “education in possession” in terms of educational objectives and means of their realization which are to help people in conscious and responsible choices related to fulfi lling their vital needs using eff ectively available material resources. In the approach applied instead of looking at the problem from the point of view of idealistically set goals and directions of education, a question has been asked if acquiring and possessing material goods can provide clear advantages for individuals in relation to the quality of their lives. Such advantages are considered to serve as standards for the appropriateness of people’s choices and at the same time as benchmarks for educational objectives. The author, drawing conclusions from the results of numerous studies on the relationship between psychological well-being and material wealth, shows that wealth fulfi ls its function in relation to the fulfi llment of human needs in the area of necessary comfort and in relation to the eff ectiveness of individuals’ everyday activities. Beyond that material strivings seem to be psychologically disadvantageous and lose their importance. Aft er reaching a certain level being wealthier does not mean being happier, because the obtained surplus of possessions, being unnecessary, requires dealing with additional costs of the psychological nature. Th ese psychological costs of material wealth have their roots in external and internal factors. The former are connected with objective discrepancies in wealth within societies and cultural rules and values, the latter with a type of motivation for acquiring material possession, nature of material goals, an individual level of materialism, a confl ict between values, and a way of managing material resources. Th e avoidance of the costs described is treated in the article as a major educational objective in the fi eld of “education in possession”.