How do you view materialism?

From the bridge of a really nice boat.

I think it is every individual's right to be proud of what they have as long as they can afford it.

Good for them.

I’m with Mountain Man.  If you can afford it go for it. After all it’s your money!

There's a freedom of not being weighed down with things that I think would be a great thing for me to continue to strive for.

~ Need over want ~

Materialism---a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values.

I'm against that meaning. 

From the Kung Fu TV series:  Get rid of everything that forces you to serve it---whether it be so humble as a pebble or as sacred as a chalice.

(I always liked that line---and according to Wikipedia, Many of the aphorisms used in the series are adapted from or derived directly from the Tao Te Ching, a book of ancient Taoist philosophy attributed to the sage Lao-tzu.)

It's not what I have, it's about how I use it so that it does not use me. 

Callous, opportunistic, unscrupulous and selfish