October 9, 2017

The insult "materialistic" is on the decline.

Just something I've noticed, and it checks out on Ngram.

26 comments:

traditionalguy said...

The Marxists agree. Now gimme the money.

mockturtle said...

Only because it's been supplanted by 'racist', 'sexist' and 'fascist'.

rehajm said...

Everybody likes stuff.

traditionalguy said...

The Marxist Globalists disguised as Progressive Resistance until the Revolution is a fait accomplis value all the material. And they plan to take it all and kill off its former owners...maybe we can use a famine followed by a Pandemic and enforced sterilization to cull the numbers.

rcocean said...

The contempt for the rich, which was present in literature/culture from the 1930s all the way through the 1970s has completely disappeared.

Why? Simple. The Democrat party is now based on identity politics, not income inequality. So, they love their left-wing Billionaires. And hate White Men.

Yancey Ward said...

It is hard to complain, with a straight face, about materialism when you are writing about it on the latest $1000 i-Phone while sitting in Starbucks drinking a $6 latte.

Mountain Maven said...

How about Nihilist?

J2 said...

Bookmarked What a great site.

My two primary word-hates "ilk" and "minions" are surging. I knew it wasn't me.

On the decline "neurotic" neurosis is no longer special enough, but I'm hoping it makes a come-back

Freeman Hunt said...

Fish 1: "Why don't we ever talk about the water?"
Fish 2: "What water?"

MadisonMan said...

That is a very interesting site. I'd not seen it before.

I note that 'Jap' peaks in 1986 -- and I recall vaguely why. 'Nigger' peaks (1970) right before 'Honkey' does (1972).

'Stoner' is really on the upswing. Yet 'Alcoholic' peaked in the mid-80s.

Too bad all the data ends in 2008. Wonder why that is.

Birkel said...

Freeman Hunt:

You were utterly convinced the slippery slope wasn't.
How about now?

Fernandinande said...

Diaphysical or metalectical materialisticism?

Fernandinande said...

mockturtle said...
Only because it's been supplanted by 'racist', 'sexist' and 'fascist'.


Stick 'em all in there:
'racist' peaked in 1998
'sexist' peaked in 1995
'fascist' peaked in 1941
'materialistic' peaked in 1938

Their frequencies are all decreasing, so I think people are just becoming nicer to each other, no doubt because of the Internet and other forms of increased communication, which lead to mutual understanding and appreciation of and consideration for the human dilemma.

Or maybe just cruder: 'asshole', 'dickwad' and 'motherfucker' all peaked in 2005.

Freeman Hunt said...

"You were utterly convinced the slippery slope wasn't.
How about now?"

It wasn't. If conservatives had been principled, they could have shown the distinction. Instead, they mostly lowered themselves to agreeing with progressive fascists.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

I'm so square that I thought "materialism" was equivalent to monism -- that thing you believe in when you stop believing in God. Then I remembered Madonna's "Material Girl." Oh, that kind.

Cf. Yes, Prime Minister, "The Bishop's Gambit" -- no, scratch that, their word is "modernist." But I think that materialism, monism, and modernism are all much of a muchness. The three Ms. Mmm.

Bilwick said...

It's what Tom Wolfe once called a "vacuum word." That is, a word that has lost any intrinsic meaning and now means whatever the speaker or writer wants it to mean. An example I notice is "selfish." You're probably selfish, but I'm just looking out for my own just interests. A lot of "liberals" who lead lives that are like the lives of some Arabian Nights potentate compared to the modest life I lead often gripe about American society being too "materialistic." If they don't value their prosperity, they should start sharing the wealth--beginning with me.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Dialectical materialists are the people most likely to denounce materialism. It's part of their dialectic.

Birkel said...

Freeman Hunt:
That line of weak rationalization won't help you.

When one side declares itself against you, it doesn't matter if you pretend principles will protect you in your weakness.

Triangle Man said...

Of course it isn't an insult. Materialism is the true philosophical monism. What are you, some kind of dualist?

rhhardin said...

Money is spiritual. The result after shopping is materialistic.

Male and female right there.

n.n said...

Only because it's been supplanted by 'racist', 'sexist' and 'fascist'.

... homopbobe, Islamaphobe, anti-immigrant, anti-Choice, anti-science, anti-grandma, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Robert Cook said...

Probably because so many people are desperate for the necessities they don't have the means to be materialistic.

n.n said...

Everyone and their dog has a cell phone, computer, one or more televisions, a refrigerator overflowing with junk food, so much sex that they celebrate Planned Parenthood, and other basic necessities of life.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

William Chadwick,

I am reminded of Yes, Prime Minister's "irregular verbs." You know, like "I have an independent mind; you're eccentric; he's gone round the twist." Or "I give confidential briefings to the press; you leak; he has been charged under Section 2(a) of the Official Secrets Act."

Honestly, there is so much good material in that show, and its predecessor.

Unknown said...

I find it interesting that millennials, use the term materialistic. Has there ever been a more materialistic generation, avaricious, and financially unsound--totally dependent upon things, weak, hyper-sensitive and demanding? Debt is an after thought. They rally against capitalism, while drinking coffee at Starbucks, expecting world travel and the finest of things, constantly bad mouthing the rich while envying and convinced being rich is the ultimate pleasure.

Unknown said...

Ann if your interested in regards to films, I discovered an older film, one that shamed me in that I watched it and was so moved I felt embarrassed I knew nothing about it. 'Children of Paradise' is an old French film, made during German occupation of WWII, and brilliant in every regard. I think of it, in my limited view, as Dickens, in regard to the fact the characters all possess extreme depth. What a thrill to watch and reflect upon.