My children (yes, that’s us 18 years ago in the image above) both headed off to college this past fall and I have an empty nest for the first time. As I’ve sorted through piles of belongings, I’ve pondered the role material possessions play in our lives. Minimalism is catching on in some corners of American culture – tiny houses, empty shelves, simpler living. I understand why!
A recent study in Infant Behavior and Development supports this notion of simpler living. The study found that toddlers played with one toy longer and more creatively when they were given four toys compared to when they had access to 16 toys. This finding is clearly counter to our common assmption that more is almost always better.
As I conducted research for my soon-to-be-released book, Strong Together: Building Partnerships across Cultures in an Age of Distrust, I found that Majority World leaders involved in development work are asking a related question. What role do possessions play in American culture and how does this influence Americans’ goals for development work?
We as Americans often assume material poverty is the greatest poverty. But as I interviewed people for my book, leaders from the Majority World resisted this idea. They spoke of people’s greater need for dignity, for empowerment. Several also shared that becoming more like Americans is not necessarily a desirable goal. As they observe our stress levels and intense pace of life, they question the wisdom of pursuing our American Dream.
Wealth is an accrual of valuable possessions, some of which may be intangible. These intangible assets include social capital, self-respect, and hope. Americans may want to help people acquire a better roof, electricity, or any number of new possessions, but an accumulation of material resources wasn’t identified as the most significant priority for development work in the interviews with Majority World leaders that I conducted.
I love what Marigold Adu, a Ghanian social entrepreneur, told me as we talked about Americans’ common presumption that everyone needs electricity and a certain standard for roofing materials. “It is a problem if people say it is. Until then, it is not a problem.”
As I sort through my children’s old toys, I think about the irony of the toddler study’s findings. Fewer possessions could actually lead to more creativity, more engagement with our surroundings, even more peace. That’s not the marketing message Americans generally hear nor the assumption we often lead with as we engage in development work around the world. But perhaps it should be?
Originally posted by the author at LinkedIn (here) and posted here by the author’s permission.