Alessia Schutz EN 101-15 Professor Kerber September 29th 2010 “Always Wanting More” ! What truly defines everyones happiness? Is it the new designer bag, a brand new BMW or something way more in value that cannot be bought. ! From as early as the 1880ʼs growth, money and success has been a major priority among Americans. “The More Factor” by Laurence Shames helps portray this idea. Eastern and Midwestern speculators would buy enormous tracts of vacant land and slap together a town. There would be a Grand Hotel, a saloon complete with swinging doors or an Opera house or even a church. These speculators would than gamble this idea that people would move into these towns. If persuasion failed the builders would resort to bribery by giving them housing in exchange of nothing. The speculators idea was to lure in the railroad by convincing people this was a real developed town. The main reason speculators did this was an easy get rich scheme. If this idea failed it wouldnʼt be a problem because America would keep on booming. America was the land of lavish opportunities. This event displays the habit of always wanting more. Can success, growth and happiness be measured by money and materialistic value? ! “Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about peopleʼs approval and you will be their prisoner.” (Kasser 502) Lao Tzu a Chinese philosopher stated this quote to warn people in the dangers of materialistic values. Focusing on material possessions can only distract someone from what is meaningful in life. Kasser gets this message across by exploring how materialistic wants relate to our well-being and health. Kasser and Ryans first questionnaire results supported the idea that materialistic values are unhealthy. Strong materialistic values are associated with depression, anxiety, physical problems