The Joy of Things and the Trap of Excess: An ethicist and an anthropologist ask, How much is too much? This article reviews two new books on whether we own our possessions or they own us. Both understand material goods and consumption as not inherently evil. Our things can be a means of encountering the divine, “the connection between creation and God.” These books are ultimately about paying attention, to our lives, to our things, and to the choices we make about how we use what we’ve been given.
