The Eastern philosophers of Confucius and Lao Tzu are associated (1) ...........................moderate living and meditative decision-making. Ironically, many people in developed nations who are aware of this association insist (2) ............................living their lives according to Western traditions, (3) .................... centre around the pursuit of material wealth. While consumerism may senselessly drive people to acquire possessions as a way of improving (4) …………………… status in life, at the same time, it is difficult to change this belief (5) …………………… matter how intense the effort may be.
An extreme example of this is the stereotypical Wall Street executive, (6) …………………… has amassed an unbelievable amount of money but for whom no amount will ever be satisfactory.