In 2007, Goudzwaard, Vander Vennen, and Van Heemst discussed how the ideology of material progress changed from being the cause of radical change “to one that seeks to maintain the existing social order with every means at its disposal.” This is an academic way of saying that once accustomed to certain levels of wealth and prosperity, people and countries become trapped in a “keeping up with the Joneses” mindset. Typically this prideful concept is used to describe someone’s desire to have what they see their neighbors have, but in a more global sense, the attitude has taken a much darker turn. It is no longer a matter of keeping up with others, but rather national pride in being richer and more outwardly affluent. The paradox of material prosperity manifests itself as the more one has, the more one wants, and they are willing to do whatever is needed to, first, acquire the wealth, and worse, to keep it. Unfortunately, as scripture describes, the love of wealth is unsatisfying (Ecclesiastes 5:10), leading people to pursue it even further, and gradually becoming what Schor described as the “overworked American.” Material satisfaction is an elusive temptation, yet one which humans have sought throughout history, both on a personal and national level.
Meadows stressed to “Pay attention to what is important,” so, to that end, consider a chilling question for people who are on the perpetual wheel of the prosperity paradox. Ask “Would not exchanging a small amount of prosperity for lower stress and more free time seem like an obvious alternative?” Considering that Americans, as do the rest of the world’s richer peoples, have an overwhelmingly larger percentage of wealth compared to the poorer countries, the question seems reasonable. This would certainly benefit those affluent who could use less of the stress “keeping up with the Joneses” requires.
At this point, you may be asking “How does this apply to leadership?” It does so in that the “keeping up with the Joneses” mindset is not only about the personal and national accumulation of material wealth. Organizations of all kinds can fall into the trap of always wanting what they see others have and have more for themselves, be it financial, facility, influence, notoriety and more. I am the last to try to limit companies’ and individual’s ambition to have a greater impact in the world and enjoy the benefits that hard work can bring, but I caution all of us in leadership to be careful not to let our ambition get the best of us. Let us all look inward at our motives as to why we strive for a larger piece of the proverbial pie.
Think about it. How does this apply to your personal and professional life?
Lead well.