An age-old question that continues its relevancy today is whether or not material possessions contribute to individual happiness. Many conclude that acquiring and owning material possessions will not bring true joy, however, it is evident that modern society places great value on material items, much more so than in the past. While it is true that material possessions are not essential to happiness, or provide a genuine meaning in life, there is something that can be said about owning property. It can be argued the happiness that possessions provide, while it may be momentary, is still considered happiness. However, many criticize the investment in luxuries as many believe indulgent purchases merely provide fleeting satisfaction. Yet, it remains unclear whether material possessions such as wealth, technology, or private property within society today are seen as a luxury, or rather as part of the necessity for daily living. Many strive to work better jobs for a higher paying salary in order to afford possessions of material wealth disguised as what some would consider a “good quality of life”. Overall, this paper will argue the position that although many believe material possessions are not essential to happiness, human nature compels individuals to continue to strive for more than what they currently possess or need. To better understand why modern society holds material possessions at such a high standard, it is important to compare and contrast the views of philosophers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau along with their thoughts on human nature.

According to John Locke, human nature allows individuals to be selfish. In a state of nature, all people are equal and independent, and natural law allows human beings the right to defend their own “life, health, liberty, or possessions” (Locke, 1690, p. 107). It is important to note how Thomas Jefferson later replaced “possessions” with “the pursuit of happiness”, inferring that property ownership equates individual contentment. The most important source for understanding Locke’s justification for individual entitlement to private property and possessions is Chapter V of The Second Treatise of Government, “Of Property”. Locke begins with the idea that each individual possesses ownership of their own body, and all labour performed with that body. He goes on to justify how property can be defined as anything one mixes their labour into through his example of picking acorns and gathering apples; “He that is nourished by the acorns he picked up under an oak, or the apples he gathered from the trees in the wood, has certainly appropriated them to h