Want creation fuels Americans’ addictiveness

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Want-Creation Fuels Americans’ Addictiveness
According to Slater, addiction is a state of want such that one feels lacking, incomplete or inadequate and can only be made whole by adding something external (Slater 303). The addictive urge can attach itself to real or symbolic things such as drugs, money, power, sex, cleaning among others. One is addicted to something if they feel that they can’t do without it and will hence always have it at hand. Slater’s essay talks about how addiction has affected Americans consumer culture. People spend a lot of money creating want. Covetousness and greed are taught to children through the great emphasis on success. In light of the above information, this paper seeks to give my response to Slater’s essay “Want-Creation Fuels Americans’ Addictiveness.”
Slater argues that addiction leads to the need for a quick fix. Most Americans are restless, inventive and dissatisfied people who want immediate solutions or things that can fix their problems speedily (Slater 300). In life today, when people are faced with a problem, they prefer things that will fix it immediately regardless of the negative effects. This is true for most people because the focus is always on eliminating the want and they are not friendly to things or people preventing them from achieving that. Similarly, people don’t care about the long run negative effects of their choices as long as an action satisfies them today. Therefore, Slater’s argument is valid because people are fueled by the desire to be complete or to fix their problems today and they end up doing things that can have adverse effects in the future.

Slater also argues that addiction leads to increased drug abuse. In our world today, people see drugs as the solution to every problem. If one is not able to satisfy their wants, they turn to drugs which make them forget about their situation momentarily. Slater says that there are drugs for every group and social class, for example, cocaine for modern Yuppies and young upper and middle-class professionals, heroin for the hopeless and marijuana and psychedelics for the 60s counterculture (Slater 301). I agree with Slater because people want a break from their everyday pressure of satisfying endless wants. However, drug abuse does not solve problems. Thus people should use other ways of dealing with stress.
Additionally, Slater claims that addictiveness makes people exercise control or will without negotiating with anybody. It is true that addictiveness leads to impatience. Today, people only care about themselves. They want to do things that satisfy them insensitive of the effects their actions can have on others. For example, one may think that they have a right to make a profit even if they poison other people or one might think they have a right to drink and drive even if it means causing an accident (Slater 302). This attitude of individualism causes many conflicts in life because other people will not allow one person to harm them to satisfy themselves. Cases of people stealing opportunities from others or practising corruption to be successful are common today. Resources are accumulated at the hands of a few people. Similarly, the accumulation of unsatisfied wants leads to stress, and that is why most people turn to drugs as a means of escape. This approach is not morally correct, and people should be sensitive of others while trying to satisfy their wants.
In conclusion, it’s evident that wants and the desire to fulfil them lead to addictiveness especially to drugs. This addiction leads to many social problems such as drug abuse, the desire to fix problems quickly irrespective of the long-term effects and the need to exert will and control without caring about others. All these things are done to satisfy ones wants. Therefore, increase in wants makes people addicted to things which can satisfy them whether good or bad.

Work Cited
Slater, Philip. Want-Creation Fuels American’s Addictiveness. 1984, http://www2.csudh.edu/ccauthen/350S12/slater.pdf.pdf. Accessed 29 Oct 2018.