The birth of Greed....what year do YOU think

[poppy]

I doubt if greed was much of an issue until the church came along and began telling people if they didn't give X amount of money, their time and children to the almighty they were guilty of greed, were sinning and thus were condemned to burn in Hell by the one who so dearly loved them. But you could also give a lot more money, if you were so fortunate to possess it, and buy your way out of sin thus escaping this burning inferno. I would say the church invented greed as we know it today.

 

[Miss Critter]

I agree with author Eckhart Tolle's view here from his book A New Earth, which is another way to say what goodwitch pointed out: greed comes from a sense of lack or scarcity; that there's not enough for everyone, so we must accumulate all we can or go without. It has less to do with monetary wealth than with the underlying motive for the accumulation of monetary wealth. That's why I believe most of us would not classify Bill Gates and others like him as greedy. He earned his wealth from providing a useful product or service, and improved the lives of others in the process. The opposite is true for the Bernie Madoff's of the world, who used the means and trust of others to enrich themselves, at the others' expense (and generated some seriously funky-bad karma for themselves, I might add).

The source of abundance is not outside you. It is part of who you are. However, start by acknowledging and recognizing abundance without. See the fullness of life all around you. The warmth of the sun on your skin, the display of magnificent flowers outside a florist?s shop, biting into a succulent fruit, or getting soaked in an abundance of water falling from the sky. The fullness of life is there at every step. The acknowledgment of that abundance that is all around you awakens the dormant abundance within. Then let it flow out. When you smile at a stranger, there is already a minute outflow of energy. You become a giver. Ask yourself often: ?What can I give here; how can I be of service to this person, this situation?? You don?t need to own anything to feel abundant, although if you feel abundant consistently things will almost certainly come to you. Abundance comes only to those who already have it. It sounds almost unfair, but of course it isn?t. It is a universal law. Both abundance and scarcity are inner states that manifest as your reality. Jesus put is like this: ?For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.?

 

[ItzKatzTime]

I doubt if greed was much of an issue until the church came along and began telling people if they didn't give X amount of money, their time and children to the almighty they were guilty of greed, were sinning and thus were condemned to burn in Hell by the one who so dearly loved them. But you could also give a lot more money, if you were so fortunate to possess it, and buy your way out of sin thus escaping this burning inferno. I would say the church invented greed as we know it today.

I am sure church/religion has a lot to do with guilt.....but I think we can go a ways on back to find fear based greed.

I love the opening scene of 2001:A Space Odesey and Kubricks whole theme of evolutuon and the need of mankind to race to get power.

Then of course you have a very simple look at what greed will do to you in Wall Street with Michael Douglas.

With blood on the street and one flagging financial institution after another gasping for dear life, a quote from the Movie “Wall Street” bears remembering:

In the last seven deals that I’ve been involved with, there were 2.5 million stockholders who have made a pretax profit of 12 billion dollars. Thank you. I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them! The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.
-Gordon Gekko

 

[ItzKatzTime]

Are you reading all the posts?

Try your best to read everyone's posts as they are all very good. I know I sometimes go straight to the end of a thread to hurry and put my 2 cents in. But I'm trying to be better and read all.

We all have something important to say....that is unless you're known for your crazy antics!:funn:

 

[lms47]

Greed as described in the context of the "Seven Deadly Sins"



Greed (or avarice, covetousness) is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of excess. However, greed (as seen by the church) is applied to the acquisition of wealth in particular. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that greed was "a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things." In Dante's Purgatory, the penitents were bound and laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts. "Avarice" is more of a blanket term that can describe many other examples of greedy behavior. These include disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason,[citations needed] especially for personal gain, for example through bribery . Scavenging[citation needed] and hoarding of materials or objects, theft and robbery, especially by means of violence, trickery, or manipulation of authority are all actions that may be inspired by greed. Such misdeeds can include simony, where one profits from soliciting goods within the actual confines of a church. (from Wikipedia)

This philosophy has been interpreted many times in modern writings with different slants.

 

[SHELLY]

An act of giving produces a good feeling in oneself. If giving didn't make you feel good, you wouldn't do it. Hence, it is a selfish act. Greed is excess want, in this case, someone who continually gives to get that good feeling again and again, is greedy.

...taking care of a friend or family member in hospice care isn't done to make one's self "feel good"--it doesn't "feel good" at all, there are times when it feels like you're walking through the pits of hell. If one does this to satisfy their need for greed, they're pretty twisted IMO.

.

 

[Minnie]

Greed I am sure has been around as long as man has. As to what it is, to me it is success without ethics. This article sums it up better than I could.

I think the major problem now is it became cool to be greedy and extemely wealthy due to that greed and not cool to be ethical. I think the media, movies, magazines, and such have protrayed that lifestyle as the one to aspire to. Rich at any cost. It would probably be a good idea to make the Fall of the Roman Empire manatory reading for young adults.

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/corporate_corruption_stopping_the_rot/

 

[30ashopper]

Is 'greed' a form of self preservation or is it self destructive? Maybe it's a mixture but I’m sure a large number of greedy acts are based on preservation, in which case one could claim 'greed' is innate. Maybe 'geed' is to general a term.

 

[Lynnie]

Good thread. Is it innate? Or, learned?

 

[traderx]

Good thread. Is it innate? Or, learned?

I believe greed is innate. Surely when Moon Watcher peered out from his cave 200,000 years ago, he compared his hunting skills to Rock Thrower and tried to think of ways to bring home bigger and better food items than his peers. Maybe there is a progression of greed that follows Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Donald Trump does not worry about his next meal but he is still driven. He is answering to a higher order of needs.

But principles and ethics are learned. It takes no more than what your Mama taught you: keep your hands to yourself, don't take anything that doesn't belong to you and treat others as you want them to treat you.