Indeed, Ferguson neglected to notice that one of the speakers there, Terrence Deacon, is, like Nagel, equally dissatisfied with the limits of materialism as he defined it.

FORBES: The Darwinist 'Mob' That Wasn't

Materialism is only as powerful of a god as the individuals who choose to worship it.

FORBES: What is Occupy Black Friday?

This materialism does not seem adequate as a value for guiding the global international family.

UNESCO: Patrimoine culturel immat��riel

As for capitalism's wasteful materialism, even Adam Smith had a problem with it.

ECONOMIST: Affluence

The idea that materialism "can cure men of the fear of God and the fear of death, " as Dr. Kass puts it, is at least as old as ancient Greece.

WSJ: Leon Kass: The Meaning of the Gosnell Trial

Researchers at San Diego State University who conducted the analysis pointed to increasing cultural emphasis in the U.S. on materialism and status, which emphasize hedonic happiness, and decreasing attention to community and meaning in life, as possible explanations.

WSJ: University of Wisconsin Study Finds Eudaimonic Happiness Lessens the 'Bite' of Risk Factors for Disease