Peter York

Tabloid discussion of bad children always blames baby-boomer liberals, careerist mothers and fashion-crazed Nathan Barley types who think it's all enormously funny. But the centre-leftish psycho-thinker Oliver James says it's all down to the Thatcher-and-after culture of turbo-capitalism, making people acquisitive and unsatisfied.

British Journalist

Andrew O'Hagan

The working class of England today have no vision of society beyond the acquisitive - no version of themselves or their habits as anything other than transitional, on their way up or on their way out. The working class, at best, is a waiting room for people who aim to become middle class if possible.

Scottish Novelist

Jiddu Krishnamurti

All of us have been trained by education and environment to seek personal gain and security and to fight for ourselves. Though we cover it over with pleasant phrases, we have been educated for various professions within a system which is based on exploitation and acquisitive fear.

Indian Philosopher

Gore Vidal

It is a paradox of the acquisitive society in which we now live that although private morals are regulated by law, the entrepreneur is allowed considerable freedom to use - and abuse - the public in order to make money.

American Novelist

Vivienne Westwood

I'm frugal. I'm not a very acquisitive woman. I never waste food. If you prepare your own food, you engage with the world, it tastes alive. It tastes good.

English Designer

Michael Shnayerson

For an acquisitive Wall Streeter, the money saved by choosing a practical car can be put toward the cost of some pricier means of mobility - like a plane.

American Journalist

Harold Brodkey

But death's acquisitive instincts will win.

American Author

Often implies a negative view of someone's desire for possessions or wealth.

Negative Connotation

Reflects a society focused on material gain, helpful for discussions on economics or values.

Cultural Implication

Typically used for the desire to gain objects or wealth, not abstract things.

Used for Objects

Refers to a legal method of getting ownership, mainly in property law.

Legal Process

Implies gaining legal rights, not just physical possession.

Ownership Rights

In law, it often involves holding something for a period before acquiring rights.

Long-Term Possession

 that the animal kingdom, including humans, have four basic primal instincts. You have hunger; you have sex; you have power; and you have the urge for acquisitiveness. As humans, what's important to remember is that we've developed, we've evolved over time

Acquisitive