Meaning of Greed
Neel Burton, M.D. in “Is Greed Good? The Psychology and Philosophy of Greed”, defines greed as the disordered desire for more than is decent or deserved, not for the greater good but for one’s own selfish interest, and at the detriment of others and society at large.
The Bible lists greed as one of the seven deadly sins. However, is there any benefit of greed? How much is too much? Should we criticise greed or celebrate it?
Dark Side of Greed
Greed has a dark side. Neel Burton, M.D., in the above-mentioned article, notes that we associate greed with negative psychological states. These include stress, exhaustion, anxiety, depression and despair. He also notes that we associate greed with maladaptive behaviours such as gambling, scavenging, hoarding, trickery and theft. He states that greed loosens family and community ties by overriding reason, compassion and love. He further states that greed undermines the bonds and values upon which we build society.
Greed results in excessive materialism, miserliness and a debasement of our humanity. In a bid to keep up with the Joneses in order to improve our social status, we may engage in excessive materialism. This can lead us to being overworked and stressed out which, in turn, takes a toll on our health.
Miserliness is also another dark side of greed. An unhealthy obsession with money can result in absurd, irrational behaviour. In “The Miser”, a play by Molière, Harpagon, the miser, is a miserable old man who builds his wealth by lending money at an exploitative rate. He does this while pinching every penny at home. For instance, he refuses to replace the worn-out clothes of his servants. He is also paranoid about the money that he has hidden in his garden. This shows irrational behaviour.
Greed also debases our humanity. As a result of greed, people are willing to deceive, harm and kill others to satisfy their blind ambitions. “Father Goriot”, a novel by Honoré de Balzac, depicts corruption and greed in 19th Century French society. In the novel, someone advises Rastignac, an individual corrupted by his thirst for advancement, wealth and social status, to kill another person in a duel in order to acquire wealth.
The advice is as follows: “The more cold-blooded your calculations, the further you will go. Strike ruthlessly, you will be feared … in this way you will reach the goal of your ambition.” This shows how greed can result in blind ambition and a loss of our moral values.
Benefits of Greed
Despite having a dark side, greed also has some benefits. Greed may be a source of motivation which promotes inventions and creativity. The desire for a better lifestyle over the years has led to the use of electricity, automobiles, aeroplanes, the internet, etc.
Neel Burton, M.D., in the above-mentioned article, states that without some measure of greed, individuals and communities are more likely to run out of resources. He states that they will also lack the means and motivation to innovate and achieve. He notes that this makes them more vulnerable to the vagaries of fate and the designs of their enemies. He further states that, whether we like it or not, greed fuels our society and without greed, our society would descend into poverty and anarchy.
Anna Chui expresses a similar view in her article, “Greed is something we should all strive for”. She notes that the quest for more and better stuff has driven societies to the highest level of achievement.
Greed may also result in wealth creation. We can use wealth for philanthropic purposes to serve humanity. These purposes include alleviating poverty, reducing starvation and finding a cure for a pandemic. Although many people described John D. Rockefeller as greedy and miserly in his day, we cannot overemphasise the impact that the Rockefeller Foundation he established has made on the world. The foundation engages in many philanthropic ventures and focuses on public health and education.
Another example is the Giving Pledge, a nonprofit that Bill Gates and Warren Buffiet founded. For this nonprofit, the world’s wealthiest individuals and families promise to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. They promise to do so either during their lifetimes or in their wills. Thus, although we may describe wealthy individuals as greedy, if they do give a majority of their wealth away for philanthropic purposes to serve humanity, this may be a benefit of greed.
How much is too much?
Although greed has its negative attributes, a healthy dose of greed may be beneficial if we take the benefits of greed into account.
Greed has become a commonplace of our modern society. Bruce E. Levine in his article “Greed and Hustle have become Virtues”, states that greed is now normal in our increasingly money-centric society. He notes that in this society, money is at the centre of virtually all thoughts, decisions and activities. He notes that whereas we once saw greed as something that the spiritually sick practised, today the mass media and mainstream politicians see greed as both normal and acceptable.
But where do we draw the line? How much is too much?
We must control greed in order to reduce the negative effects of greed. Perry Gruber in “How to make greed 100% virtuous”, states that humanity can harness greed, chanelling it so that it is 100% beneficial. When we fail to control greed, it spirals out of control, causing havoc in its wake.
Perry Gruber in the article mentioned above, states that unharnessed, rampant greed combined with our current global governance model seems to be destroying all we used to hold dear. Randy Crump expresses a similar view in “The Benefits of Greed”. He states that unbridled greed, that which lacks any moral compass, that tramples on the dignity and lives of others, is neither healthy nor helpful in a civil society.
Conclusion
In determining whether we should criticise or celebrate greed, we can compare greed to a kaleidoscope. When we rotate a kaleidoscope in our hands, it changes colours and patterns. As such, greed can be positive or negative, depending on how we handle it. Whereas a healthy dose of greed may be beneficial, unharnessed, uncontrolled greed can be fatal.
There is an Indian folktale about a boy in a village who wanted to trick an old man into giving a wrong answer. Everyone in the village revered this old man for his wisdom. The boy caught a bird in his hands and asked the old man what he had in his hands, The old man replied that it was a bird.
The boy then asked the old man whether the bird was alive or dead. His plan was to open his hands and let the bird fly away if the old man said the bird was dead. On the other hand, he planned to crush his hands and kill the bird, letting it fall dead to the ground, if the old man said that the bird was alive. The old man pondered the question and replied, “The answer is in your hands”.
This story shows that we hold the freedom of choice in our hands . It was the boy’s choice to detemine whether the bird was alive or dead. Similarly, it is our choice to determine whether we will use greed positively or negatively.
So, should we criticise or celebrate greed? The answer is in our hands.
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