Is Greed An Immoral Or Moral Practice?

[Pozessed]

Greed to me can be defined as: An action derived from selfish desires.

Is greed an accepted part of etiquette?

Does it help communities more than it hurts them?

Why does it seem like people allow greed into their communities?

Do only people of spiritual faith believe greed is bad?

Has greed never been involved in the evolution of communities?

How would the world be different if greed wasn't a pat of it?

Isn't there a difference between innovating for necessity rather than lucrative purposes?

Is it greedy to want to survive?

Why should any people constitute equality if we are all greedy?
If we are all greedy nobody is equal to anyone because we all have values that put ourselves above another person according to our justified/unjustified greedy standards.
Shouldn't we just accept that we have superiors and let them do as they wish seeing as greed controls every aspect of life?

Wouldn't it be more prosperous if we invented and invested for social necessity instead of personal gain? Has it ever been tried? What were the outcomes?

Is there a point where it can be greedy to have faith in God?

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to answer each of these questions. I do appreciate the help in my quest for knowledge.

 

[Sunstone]

Greed to me can be defined as: An action derived from selfish desires.

I think your definition of greed is so broad as to be largely unworkable since, according to it, just about anything and everything would be greed. But, of course, you have a right to define the word as you wish.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

All human behaviors have their root in biological/physiological/evolutionary forces, and ultimately, can be connected to the fundamental drives common to all life which has made it survive and thrive. The underlying forces which drive life are to survive (resource acquisition and protection, avoiding danger) and to reproduce (which could also be defined as an aspect of resource acquisition and protection).

Greed is fundamentally an expression of resource acquisition and protection in the interest of self-survival and survival of those one is responsible for. The level of association with others defines the circle of interest for survival. I'd identify these as immediate (family), local (friends, community), and abstract (others, strangers). The amount of drive to secure and protect resources expands out from the center of this circle. The more resources one has, the more freedom and ability they have to expand their drive for resource distribution.

Only our self-awareness and ability for abstract thought allows for a model such morality. Taking this into account, I'd say greed is immoral when one limits their resource acquisition and distribution to an extent not commensurate with the amount of resources they have - and more specifically with the knowledge that further resource acquisition comes at the expense of those who have far less - often less than is necessary to survive.

 

[Willamena]

Greed to me can be defined as: An action derived from selfish desires.

Or it can be defined as wanting more than you need, and acting on that.

Is greed an accepted part of etiquette?

Does it help communities more than it hurts them?

Umm, no.

Why does it seem like people allow greed into their communities?

Because it's mistaken for somehow being their choice.

Do only people of spiritual faith believe greed is bad?

Has greed never been involved in the evolution of communities?

How would the world be different if greed wasn't a part of it?

It'd be a world minus one thing.

Isn't there a difference between innovating for necessity rather than lucrative purposes?

This is the only interesting question in this post. Do you equate "innovating for necessity" with greed? I cannot. Necessity and luxury are at odds, and greed is a luxury that innovating for necessity cannot afford.

Is it greedy to want to survive?

Want and wanting too much are different things.

Why should any people constitute equality if we are all greedy? If we are all greedy nobody is equal to anyone because we all have values that put ourselves above another person according to our justified/unjustified greedy standards.

I don't know--what does it mean to "constitute equality"? We all constitute ourselves.

Shouldn't we just accept that we have superiors and let them do as they wish seeing as greed controls every aspect of life?

Who are our superiors? and who are we superior to?

Wouldn't it be more prosperous if we invented and invested for social necessity instead of personal gain? Has it ever been tried? What were the outcomes?

"Social" means a bunch of individuals. Personal gain can be social gain, and I believe it is.

Is there a point where it can be greedy to have faith in God?

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to answer each of these questions. I do appreciate the help in my quest for knowledge.

You're welcome. Hope my responses helped.

 

[Pegg]

it is greed to want more then you need and yes, it is immoral according to Gods view on the matter.

 

[Quintessence]

I think your definition of greed is so broad as to be largely unworkable since, according to it, just about anything and everything would be greed. But, of course, you have a right to define the word as you wish.

Yeah, that was my first thought. I can't say I've ever run into someone with such a broad definition of greed, and the standard dictionaries disagree with this level of broadness. A definition this broad dramatically changes how I'd answer the rest of the questions. It becomes absurd to object to "greed" when it is defined in this way.

 

[Amechania]

I think greed may have influenced composition of OP. Pass the kouchie Pz.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

I don't usually lose my temper, but I am at the point of murder right now.

In my flat, I share with two other people, my daughter and an elderly pensioner.

We have been living here for almost a year now, and our quarterly electricity bills have been between $200- $300 a quarter, which is very reasonable...we have been paying these bills on time and in full.

This quarter, we receive an electricity bill for $1,500 and we haven't used any more power nor have we done anything differently.

My flatmate rang the electricity company (the bill is in his name), and said that according to this bill and all previous bills, there's no way we could have used that much electricity and so, the electricity company must be wrong.

Do you know what the electricity company said? "We are terribly sorry, but all of your previous power bills were all improperly calculated, and we have done a recalculation based on our estimate of power we consider that you are using and added all of our calculations onto your current bill...sorry, but you must pay it"....none of us can even afford to pay it.

So, they want us to take them to court now and this is going to drag on for years in the legal system now, where lawyers etc all get their 'cut' too, in this 'money-go-round'.

Do you know why I am living in a rented flat with a grumpy pensioner? because exactly the same thing happened in my last place of residence. I only use this PC and a 10watt globe, but I was being charged over $1000 a quarter, then when I told them where they could shove that bill, I became a fugitive from the legal system, living in a remote place where nobody knows and nothing gets sent to me in my name (nor my daughter's).

Thing is, this 'Electricity Bill Karma' now follows me wherever I go and will see me evicted from everywhere, due to no fault of my own.

My flatmate is at the point of suicide and I am ready to join him. I have also thought about fully renouncing all this...live by candlelight, cook on gas stove, have cold showers, give up TV and internet...maybe this is what god is trying to tell me, that I should consider electricity as being an evil, corrupt thing I am better off without.

All I know, is that if I could have just 5 minutes alone in a room with the person who gets to make these decisions to ruin people's lives...just 5 minutes...of course, it would only take a few seconds if a gun were involved...

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I don't usually lose my temper, but I am at the point of murder right now.

In my flat, I share with two other people, my daughter and an elderly pensioner.

We have been living here for almost a year now, and our quarterly electricity bills have been between $200- $300 a quarter, which is very reasonable...we have been paying these bills on time and in full.

This quarter, we receive an electricity bill for $1,500 and we haven't used any more power nor have we done anything differently.

My flatmate rang the electricity company (the bill is in his name), and said that according to this bill and all previous bills, there's no way we could have used that much electricity and so, the electricity company must be wrong.

Do you know what the electricity company said? "We are terribly sorry, but all of your previous power bills were all improperly calculated, and we have done a recalculation based on our estimate of power we consider that you are using and added all of our calculations onto your current bill...sorry, but you must pay it"....none of us can even afford to pay it.

So, they want us to take them to court now and this is going to drag on for years in the legal system now, where lawyers etc all get their 'cut' too, in this 'money-go-round'.

Do you know why I am living in a rented flat with a grumpy pensioner? because exactly the same thing happened in my last place of residence. I only use this PC and a 10watt globe, but I was being charged over $1000 a quarter, then when I told them where they could shove that bill, I became a fugitive from the legal system, living in a remote place where nobody knows and nothing gets sent to me in my name (nor my daughter's).

Thing is, this 'Electricity Bill Karma' now follows me wherever I go and will see me evicted from everywhere, due to no fault of my own.

My flatmate is at the point of suicide and I am ready to join him. I have also thought about fully renouncing all this...live by candlelight, cook on gas stove, have cold showers, give up TV and internet...maybe this is what god is trying to tell me, that I should consider electricity as being an evil, corrupt thing I am better off without.

All I know, is that if I could have just 5 minutes alone in a room with the person who gets to make these decisions to ruin people's lives...just 5 minutes...of course, it would only take a few seconds if a gun were involved...

Wow! I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through that crap. I'm in a similar situation with bills. I live with my mom and she maybe makes about $300 a week and the ***** of a rental woman is making us pay $200 to $250 a week to pay off back rent. We can hardly eat and pay other bills! It is hell! I want to strangle her and we both are so depressed. There are so many other problems with our living situation, too, but I won't get into here. A lot of the time, I just wish I were dead. I have been having thoughts of suicide again lately, as well.

Yes, greed is immoral.

 

[Thana]

I don't usually lose my temper, but I am at the point of murder right now.

In my flat, I share with two other people, my daughter and an elderly pensioner.

We have been living here for almost a year now, and our quarterly electricity bills have been between $200- $300 a quarter, which is very reasonable...we have been paying these bills on time and in full.

This quarter, we receive an electricity bill for $1,500 and we haven't used any more power nor have we done anything differently.

My flatmate rang the electricity company (the bill is in his name), and said that according to this bill and all previous bills, there's no way we could have used that much electricity and so, the electricity company must be wrong.

Do you know what the electricity company said? "We are terribly sorry, but all of your previous power bills were all improperly calculated, and we have done a recalculation based on our estimate of power we consider that you are using and added all of our calculations onto your current bill...sorry, but you must pay it"....none of us can even afford to pay it.

So, they want us to take them to court now and this is going to drag on for years in the legal system now, where lawyers etc all get their 'cut' too, in this 'money-go-round'.

Do you know why I am living in a rented flat with a grumpy pensioner? because exactly the same thing happened in my last place of residence. I only use this PC and a 10watt globe, but I was being charged over $1000 a quarter, then when I told them where they could shove that bill, I became a fugitive from the legal system, living in a remote place where nobody knows and nothing gets sent to me in my name (nor my daughter's).

Thing is, this 'Electricity Bill Karma' now follows me wherever I go and will see me evicted from everywhere, due to no fault of my own.

My flatmate is at the point of suicide and I am ready to join him. I have also thought about fully renouncing all this...live by candlelight, cook on gas stove, have cold showers, give up TV and internet...maybe this is what god is trying to tell me, that I should consider electricity as being an evil, corrupt thing I am better off without.

All I know, is that if I could have just 5 minutes alone in a room with the person who gets to make these decisions to ruin people's lives...just 5 minutes...of course, it would only take a few seconds if a gun were involved...

I'm having the same problem,
The electric company comes by to check the meters, But rarely do they ever knock, And when they do, It's once and then they're gone before I even hear it let alone realise they're there and let them in to check the meters.

Then they over charge us based on an estimate, I've had $1000+ electric bills twice, Just because they underestimated or overestimated our usage.

It's disheartening, Though, Luckily I've been able to afford to pay the ridiculous bills when they came.

It's greedy, Making estimations about my usage which are generally over the top.


And I hope things get better for you, God bless

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

I'm having the same problem,
The electric company comes by to check the meters, But rarely do they ever knock, And when they do, It's once and then they're gone before I even hear it let alone realise they're there and let them in to check the meters.

Then they over charge us based on an estimate, I've had $1000+ electric bills twice, Just because they underestimated or overestimated our usage.

It's disheartening, Though, Luckily I've been able to afford to pay the ridiculous bills when they came.

It's greedy, Making estimations about my usage which are generally over the top.


And I hope things get better for you, God bless

Thank you both (Thana & St. Frank). <3

Here I was thinking that bills related to how much power one actually used, and not how much power that in 'the company's estimate one uses' (and especially when BACKDATED!). According to the principles of 'corporate greed', that 'estimation' can be anything!

The only way around 'not knowing how much I will be paying for something', is to not use/buy that commodity in the first place...and forget about switching companies, they are all the freaking same!

They'll overcharge you for 'estimated usage', then, when you go to complain, transfer your call to an 'Indian Call Centre' where people hardly speak a word of English, where those 'greedy companies' get to pay offshore workers like $3/hr just so they don't have to deal with the problem anymore.

India is where Aussies take a dump now. It's terrible!

Not to mention all of the 'collection agencies' on their books, who will send out about 4-5 letters weekly (charging you $17 for each letter), when you are a month late on your debt, increasing that debt way out of proportion.

I tell them "if I cannot afford to pay the outstanding bill, what makes you think by adding more debt to it is going to make me pay it off any faster?" It's like trying to get blood out of a stone.

This is what causes battlers to go into unmanageable debt. Where an amount, of say $1,000 can be paid off in a few months, nobody cares and they want their money now!. Then, they hike up that debt to put us into the category where that debt becomes unmanageable.

I have seen it and experienced it.

If I didn't own a cottage in the woods, I could go bankrupt. I cannot live in that cottage though, because it has no power, no sewer, no water, no insulation, bugs get in due to cracks in the walls...it's going to cost me at least $50,000 to do it up and I have had it on the market for years and the most I have been offered for it is $10,000 when the land alone has a market value of $70,000. I won't sell it for a song, no matter how desperate and 'hard up' I become.

I cannot afford to do up that cottage, but at least I know there's somewhere I can go to 'escape' all this and not have to rely on anybody anymore (and be terribly overcharged for the privilege).

Anyway, that's enough...all my whining isn't going to fix this and neither have all my prayers to Shiva helped...

 

[Me Myself]

I think your definition of greed is so broad as to be largely unworkable since, according to it, just about anything and everything would be greed. But, of course, you have a right to define the word as you wish.

Agreed.

Get it? A-greed.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Not over this yet and I need to go find something to destroy...

Can a supplier bill me back past the current period?

Yes, it can issue an account for an undercharge or a catch-up bill.

In the case of an electricity supplier,there are limits on how far back the supplier can go. These are imposed by the Electricity Supply Industry (Tariff Customers) Regulations 2008.

An electricity supplier can recover an undercharge for a maximum period of one year before the date of discovery, even if the undercharging or non-charging has been for longer than that. This time period is only relevant for undercharging as a result of inaccurate metering of consumption. For undercharging which is the result of fraud or tampering with the metering equipment, there are no limits to how far the supplier can go back and recover.

To recover the amount of an undercharge, an electricity supplier must separately itemise the amount, state how the undercharge occurred and how it has been calculated. The supplier must allow you at least the same period to pay the account as the period in which the undercharge occurred for example, if the supplier is seeking to recover six months of undercharging, then they must allow you six months to pay the account.

Gas suppliers can also recover undercharges, but are not subject to such controls.

Can my supplier estimate my accounts?

Suppliers should do their best to send you a bill based on an actual reading of your meter. If they cant access the meter, they can estimate the account, but they must be able to take an actual reading at least once every 12 months. It is your responsibility to make sure the meter is accessible. This relates to both gas and electricity.

Note that meter readers from Aurora Energy will not normally enter a property to read a meter if they cannot be satisfied that a dog on the property is unrestrained. This is for good reasons related to occupational health and safety.

An estimated bill is based on past use, taken from the same period over the previous year. This might not match the amount youre actually using. After you get an estimated bill, your next bill that is based on a meter reading may be higher or lower than you expected, depending on whether the estimate was lower or higher than your actual use.

If a bill is estimated, this must be clearly identified on the bill.

Energy Ombudsman - Frequently asked questions

This means, I can use my PC for 5 minutes and be charged $100 for the privilege.

It is all just far too expensive for me.

Very soon, things like electricity, fresh water and fresh food will be a luxury that only the very wealthy can afford.

I told everybody today, that Third World countries have it much better than Australia does...and everybody agreed. I'd rather be living there, seriously.

 

[oldbadger]

...............

Is greed an accepted part of etiquette?

Etiquette?? ! You're sounding like you've just left a Swiss 'finishing school'! Everything about etiquette is a false patina, covering ruthless greed.

Does it help communities more than it hurts them?

In moderation it helps. Run riot it destroys.

Why does it seem like people allow greed into their communities?

We are all children, arguing over the sweets....

Do only people of spiritual faith believe greed is bad?

No....! Some deeply spiritual people have no faith. Some people with faith have no spirit! Sensible people curb 'greed' before it becomes their master.,...

Has greed never been involved in the evolution of communities?

Yes....... Most huge human migrations have been empowered by .......More!.....more!!!

How would the world be different if greed wasn't a pat of it?

Yes...... Need is a driving force. Greed is the (sickening) excess of that force.

Isn't there a difference between innovating for necessity rather than lucrative purposes?

Yes....... already mentioned above....

Is it greedy to want to survive?

No....... that is natural 'need', not greed, surely?

Why should any people constitute equality if we are all greedy?

We are not all greedy, but we are all needy. It's different.

If we are all greedy nobody is equal to anyone because we all have values that put ourselves above another person according to our justified/unjustified greedy standards.

If.......... we are not all greedy, we are simply 'needy'.

Shouldn't we just accept that we have superiors and let them do as they wish seeing as greed controls every aspect of life?

Nah! Let's catch 'em, and display 'em to the crowds through the media. It's good fun. I like reading about the scandals. OMG.... we need greedy leaders so that oldbadger can wee himself with laughter when they get caught.... I'm greedy for that....

Wouldn't it be more prosperous if we invented and invested for social necessity instead of personal gain? Has it ever been tried? What were the outcomes?

Stalin was one outcome........ not good. Greedy sods always seem to grasp such beautiful communities and turn them into slavery parks.

Is there a point where it can be greedy to have faith in God?

Absolutely! No christian has ever told me that he/she would give up their place in heaven in exchange for God letting everybody else in....

 

[BruceDLimber]

>Is greed an immoral moral practice?

That depends on the circumstances.

I quote the Baha'i scriptures:

"t may be said, good and evil are innate in the reality of man, and this is contrary to the pure goodness of nature and creation. The answer to this is that greed, which is to ask for something more, is a praiseworthy quality provided that it is used suitably. So if a man is greedy to acquire science and knowledge, or to become compassionate, generous and just, it is most praiseworthy.

"If he exercises his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts, it is very praiseworthy; but if he does not use these qualities in a right way, they are blameworthy."
--Some Answered Questions, Chapter 57, p. 215.

And indeed, this is why we say truth is relative!

Peace,

Bruce

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Greed to me can be defined as: An action derived from selfish desires.

Or it can be usefully defined.

 

[McBell]

Greed to me can be defined as: An action derived from selfish desires.

Congratulations.
You just defined greed to include breathing.

 

[Valjean]

Greed's not an action anymore than lust or anger. If anything I'd call it a psychopathology and I'd define it as a craving for more than is needed.
It's the uncontrolled expression of greed that becomes problematic.

 

[crazedrat]

Greed is by definition excessive... Indulgence is not the same as greed. Most of the questions you ask are trying to distinguish greed from indulgence. Too much of anything causes imbalance and leads to conflict / disease. The body of society deteriorates due to greed, and many other things. So yes, it is always a bad thing.

 

[McBell]

Greed is by definition excessive... Indulgence is not the same as greed. Most of the questions you ask are trying to distinguish greed from indulgence. Too much of anything causes imbalance and leads to conflict / disease. The body of society deteriorates due to greed, and many other things. So yes, it is always a bad thing.

Greed is defined as the DESIRE for excess, indulgence is acting upon the desire.