The Properties of Greed in Human Nature
Human nature is a complex thing. There are many factors that affect it, many factors that help create it and drive it. Through virtue and vice it becomes the driving force behind most humanity. There are prominent features, however, and I do plan on discussing them. Through my observations I noticed that one of the features that stand out most out of all others is avarice. Greed. Greed is a despicable force that most being revolves around, the centrifugal force that drives humanity. I will concede the point that it is not simply the only force, yet cannot say without being forced to question my own ideals that it is not one of the greatest forces in human nature. By speculations I’ve noticed that the majority of people I pass, though their motives remain their own, show signs of intense avarice and self-centered desire. In my passing through public I see people placing themselves on a pedestal, most of the time without even noticing that they are doing so. Yet greed is a general term. It can be divided rightfully into three topics and likely each of those topics can be broken down further. However I will simply take these three categories into which greed can be divided and give brief speculation on each. Materialistic value, lust for power and self-centeredness are all different types of greed and do dabble within the other parts of human nature to which the name sin has been applied. I wish simply to inform when speculating on these, not to disregard humanity and call us animals. I find that simple knowledge, awareness of the various types of greed and other such vices of human nature aid in avoiding them. To know how people are self-centered, for example, allows those who know to avoid such faults. Yet at the same time I who write this, who exclaim that knowing helps to put aside can admit that I am not free of greed myself. If I was it would not be human, for as I stated many times greed is a chief aspect in human nature.
The first of the categories is the most obvious. Though self-centeredness is a close second I do not wish to dabble into informing on such a thing until after I cover the first two categories of greed. Materialistic value is what people think of most when they see greed. They do not see the other two categories as avarice, per se, but the thought that such as tiny pieces of metal and numbers in a computer are the most valuable objects. Materialistic value is exactly as the name pertains: the excessive value placed upon material objects. The prime example of this greed is the value placed on money, though money is not always a tangible object. Even when money remains a digital value, a numerical existence is all the people wish for. In bank accounts and on the computers the people always wish to see a higher number when checked. This greed is also the most ambiguous. It is present in everyone for if it weren’t then currency would be a redundant concept. Surely the virtue of charity clambers forward and cancels this out, yet more people fall to materialistic value than rise to charity. Even in charitable acts people are greedy, though I will elaborate upon this later for I digress. Currency and anything that could lead to show such acquisition are a driving force behind people. It is a common theme in all forms of literature and entertainment, so ignorance cannot be feigned. Yet this is such a common form of greed that it is oft put aside, unable to be confronted but rather accepted. Priceless art, antiques that delve into a deep cultural history, structures that obstruct the environment, materialistic value is such a strong force in human nature and the easiest to live with. Material objects are human’s biggest attachment, whether it be tiny pieces of metal, slips of paper, priceless objects or even other human beings. It is not long abolished the age in which human beings were given a material value and traded for and like currency. In fact such a greed-inspired act still exists in the world today. Such tyrannical acts are standard still in some cultures, often even a sign of power!
Which brings me to the next form of greed to which I wish to draw attention to. Lust for power is perhaps the most misconceived category to which acts of greed can be placed. People often put it in with the sin and vice of lust, but in actual fact the quest for power, fame and establishment is a vile act of greed. Greed itself can be defined as any act or motivation for self betterment through any means. This is, at least, the definition I place upon it. When one seeks out power at any cost, often resulting in the misery of others alongside them, they are committing themselves to greed. It is often the scenario that one who is in power will have put aside others in order to get there. The position of power is a single throne, no matter how many self-delusions one may place upon it. An excellent example of this would be found in the minds of teenagers in the public education system, the aptly named high school politics to which is the focus once more of literature and entertainment. When one wishes to establish power in the world of high school politics they have to achieve a catapult effect. That is they need some sort of force in which to launch themselves through the ranks. So with this goal in mind, the position of power theirs to achieve, they use other people and their ranks as a sacrifice to give them the momentum to catapult forward into the seat of power. One such teenager may put down another in front of a strategically chosen group, drawing admiration from the group whilst placing shame upon the one they were force to put down. Such a search for power continues on throughout life. Every human being desires to be above another. Even myself, as I write this, do so to attain a viewer-ship that my opinion can be respected, placing me above others to whom the readers of this article may abolish for their opinion. Yet as I write this, too, I wish to inform my readers to be more civilized and to see others as human beings rather than objects to which you can use to advance. Each human being is an individual who has the right to exist, to be happy, and to achieve their own goals and dreams without having to worry that someone above them may use them in order to get ahead. I say this because with power, with a place above others comes ignorance toward their humanity, their presence. It is immoral to treat another less than yourself lest they deserve it through their own actions. I will not say I am without this fault myself, yet I try my best to place everyone at an equal value until they do something of their own accord to diminish or enhance their own impressions. Yet at the same time acts to enhance one’s own position, even if they do not put others down, may be greed-inspired. Media fame is an infamous motivator, a driving force behind such things as charitable acts. When these media tyrants who have already established themselves contribute to a supposedly just cause they are likely not doing so because they themselves are charitable but because they wish to seem charitable in the eyes of the people who determine their position. Thus the lust for power is an almost inescapable force to which all humanity falls. There will be no such thing as a purely honest, charitable act in the future, despite the fact that the recipient of said act will benefit, but the motivator behind the act itself is where the greed lay, for every human is guilty of wanting to better their own position in life.
This leads me into my third and final category. They transit so smoothly for the simple fact that the three topics which I discuss are all assortments of greed, they are all similar in that they comprise the ultimate driving force behind humanity. Self-centeredness is perhaps the most convoluted of the categories of greed. As lust for power may be confused for lust, self-centeredness may be misinterpreted as pride. And in a way it is pride, it is sloth, it is many of the other sins which are based on concepts of human nature. Yet it chiefly falls under greed, for it is not pride to place yourself above others in such a manner that you yourself should obtain more than they. It is not sloth that drives humans when they wish not to follow others and instead disobey. Self-centeredness is the true pinnacle of avarice. When one is self-centered they more often than not have the features of the first two categories as well, with some extra that would not be classified. The self-centered individual puts themselves above others. I cannot say all others because they do hold certain other individuals in high regard, but at the same time may not even acknowledge the existence of individuals they deem unworthy. That is to say that they believe their wants, needs and so forth take priority over those of others. One of my favorite examples of this is when I am walking through a public area known for high traffic, namely a lobby in the university or even the hallways. I may be walking to and from class and I’d come across a group waiting to get into their next class. They’d be divided into sections for conversation, the sections taking up most or the entire hall without consideration for the traffic as it comes through. Or in a lobby with a large class, the people would gather in a large, tightly packed mass that would be impassable. These may seem like minor offenses per person, but when a large mass of people collect that are all self-centered in such a way it creates inconveniences for everyone. It is all I can do, personally, to not stop and go off on a tangent, repeating many of the points I’ve stated here. Self-centeredness is perhaps the worst of the three categories of greed in that it incorporates the worst traits from the other two while having its own such characteristics. Once more it is present in nearly everyone, although with self-centeredness it’s much less of a challenge to place your priorities to the people and world around you than to yourself. This is one of the more common concepts when someone thinks about greed, as well, because as I said it incorporates characteristics from the other forms.
What amazes me is that people remain self-centered. With all the media attention such behavior gets—it’s a common theme for characters which the audience is meant to dislike—people still remain so greedy. Materialistic value, lust for power and self-centeredness are three categories of the greed found in essentially every human being. It is a trait we’ve had and always will have, but I hope that by outlining the different types of greed in the world I will help increase awareness, if only in a few people, toward these things. With awareness it can be avoided. I do not expect everyone to stop being greedy, but to have a world with less greed would be ideal. Without greed we could accomplish so much more. For example, if corporations were not greedy perhaps the cost for electricity, drugs and so forth would be cheap enough that a cure for cancer would not need millions of dollars and then some donated to its cause. There may be other factors there, but the greed of humanity does come into play in delaying such innovations from ever being formed or discovered. The people who develop these things need to pay their employees, who do indeed work for what they get. Greed really is a vice in today’s society and should it ever be conquered I do like to think that it will usher in a better day, a new dawn, so to speak. It will never be eliminated, but there are many things people can do to help themselves get over their greed. So go out, volunteer, help someone even if it’s something small like giving your friend a dollar when they need it. Everything helps.
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How can we become selfless, live for others rather than for self- think, speak & do things in the interest of others without becoming fools? To God, our wisdom is foolishness & his foolishness is wisdom. 1cor1:25
“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good”
Gordon Gecko
Wall Street
x.k.
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