Why do people invest so much energy into material goods, instead of the people and world around them?

Question

I live in a 60-person urban housing cooperative. We share one big kitchen, and eat dinner together every night. Everyone does 5 hours of housework/cooking every week to keep the house running. I've lived here for 2 years, and I'm part of this amazing community--my housemates are my support network, and they're really fun people.

[This isn't a cult at all; there's no leader, no teachings whatsoever, and people easily move in and out.]

When I go back to the suburbs, I'm amazed at my friends who live there--they seem so unhappy, understimulated, glazed over like their lives are empty. They don't interact with many people, and every day seems to be like the previous day. They drown their feelings with TV, alcohol, etc.

Anyway, having lived in both the suburbs and in an urban coop, I've determined that group living is better for people--remember community? It's like being a part of a tribe, or a close family.

So why don't more people try cohousing? I really don't know.

Answer 1

because they r selfish

Answer 2

Sounds like your commune is really neat. Trouble with cohousing is continuity. People come and go and over time the quality of the community can and will change, sometimes for the better and sometimes not. For people who are trying to raise children, stability can be a very desireable thing.
Yah, materialism and boredom and misdirection of energy is running rampant in Hamerica, but the problem is one of goals ... having goals and working towards them is the key to a fulfilling life, as you have discovered.
You could perhaps help by convincing your friends to become a tribe, of sorts, and setting some goals for the tribe to accomplish. Could be fun, could chase away the boredom, could do something positive in the world.
Just my .02 Ameribucks.

Answer 3

Different strokes for different folks. While you may be happy living in a commune, other people may be just as happy to live in seclusion. No one is better than the other and part of understanding is acceptance for things that are beyond your scope of retention.

Answer 4

People are afraid!
Afraid that you will have no time to yourself and that if you do something wrong then you will have a lot more to yell at you and you cannot get away from them.