Who is concerned that the world is being consumed by Greed?

[Secret Chief]

Often by consuming each other. I guess if you want to call that harmony!

Ecological harmony. News just in : Carnivores eat herbivores. Police not called.

And referring back - bugger all to do with greed.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Ecological harmony. News just in : Carnivores eat herbivores. Police not called.

And referring back - bugger all to do with greed.

And yet if I ate a vegan, I'd get arrested. Not fair I tell ya!

 

[Secret Chief]

And yet if I ate a vegan, I'd get arrested. Not fair I tell ya!

I have the same trouble eating meat eaters

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

No it won’t. Greed is just one component of human nature among many. Enlightened self interest constrains against wanton wholesale greed. True Capitalism promotes self interest but constrains greed.

This article might interest you; Greed Is Not Good, and It’s Not Capitalism | AEI

Is true capitalism like true Christianity or true Scotsman?
When people say true xxxxx They are conflicting it with their own bias.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Do you have any examples of how greed manifests itself in other animals?

Ever see lions fight each other at a kill?


Or

Honey Badger don't care. Honeybadger takes what he wants.

 

[Shaul]

Is true capitalism like true Christianity or true Scotsman?
When people say true xxxxx They are conflicting it with their own bias.

Not in every case and not in this case. The definition of “Scotsman” or “Christian” may be ambiguous, but Capitalism isn’t so much. By true Capitalism I simply mean unadulterated. I.e. not crony Capitalism or Capitalism adulterated by something else such as nationalism.

 

[Vinayaka]

I'm not particularly concerned. The Gini coefficient has been steady in Canada for 30 years or so.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Not in every case and not in this case. The definition of “Scotsman” or “Christian” may be ambiguous, but Capitalism isn’t so much. By true Capitalism I simply mean unadulterated. I.e. not crony Capitalism or Capitalism adulterated by something else such as nationalism.

All capitalism operates in a context. There is no such thing as true capitalism.

Even China's form of capitalism functions perfectly well in inter action with that of the west. Yet it it functions in the context of communism and a command infrastructure.

You are considering the capitalism of your own country to be some sort of gold standard that applies to all. Of course everyone else sees their own version as the gold standard.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

You mean, it was the BLURST of times!

Stupid monkey!

 

[Peter Griffin]

Ever see lions fight each other at a kill?


Or

Honey Badger don't care. Honeybadger takes what he wants.

I appreciate those examples, but I think survival is different than greed. "The definition of greed is an intense desire to accumulate large amounts of something, such as food or money, especially if you try to acquire more than you need or more than your fair share. " The lions weren't fighting for excess.

 

[Wildswanderer]

I appreciate those examples, but I think survival is different than greed. "The definition of greed is an intense desire to accumulate large amounts of something, such as food or money, especially if you try to acquire more than you need or more than your fair share. " The lions weren't fighting for excess.

Oh but animals will kill more than they consume. I've seen it many times. Especially muskilids. Mink will kill a whole bunch of fish then den up and then only eat a fraction of them for example.

 

[Peter Griffin]

Oh but animals will kill more than they consume. I've seen it many times. Especially muskilids. Mink will kill a whole bunch of fish then den up and then only eat a fraction of them for example.

Well hopefully since we are endowed with reason, we should be able to realize the idiocracy of greed and its by products to insure our own survival and our species survival.

 

[Peter Griffin]

While I agree greed is not capitalism I see greed as a necessity for the advancement of civilization. The obsession with more. It's greed which drove our ancestors out of the trees in search for more.

We are not all obsessed with getting more and not all capitalists are greedy, but it's the greedy who want more that drive civilization to advance, that advance technology. The rest ride on the coattails of the greedy.
Capitalism does not require exploitation nor profit at the expense of others. In fact these things are detrimental to capitalism. These things are the flaws of human nature, not capitalism.

Capitalists are not all greedy but thank God for the ones that are.

Do you really believe that greed drives innovation? I believe people are just wired that way, Beethoven was not driven by greed to become a great composer, Newton wasn't driven by greed to become a great scientist. Throughout history, the brightest most innovative minds were not fortunate enough to have riches as a by product. I believe the innovators of our time are driven to innovate, because that is who they are, I truly believe greed has nothing to do with it and they would innovate whether they made 100K or 100 billion.

 

[Sand Dancer]

I find it concerning that our world leaders are off in the weeds, despite the many, many issues that are having a great impact on people, the world and its ecosystems. Would love to get some perspective as it feels as though everyone is either disinterested, impotent or naive. I know this isn't the case so wanted other peoples insight.

Egos rule the day, with the emphasis on material possessions, fame, control and power. If we reached within we would see what is really important. The outward focus doesn't tend to give us true joy.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Do you really believe that greed drives innovation? I believe people are just wired that way, Beethoven was not driven by greed to become a great composer, Newton wasn't driven by greed to become a great scientist. Throughout history, the brightest most innovative minds were not fortunate enough to have riches as a by product. I believe the innovators of our time are driven to innovate, because that is who they are, I truly believe greed has nothing to do with it and they would innovate whether they made 100K or 100 billion.

Motivation and greed can be two separate things.
Some excellent inventor's were not motivated by money.
There's kind of a perception problem that weighs in with some people. They see someone that's wealthy and assume that person was greedy when he may just be a good planner or even just lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
And there's a difference between greed and just wanting to live comfortably.
People say capitalism demands greed but I don't buy it. I admire motivated people but not greedy ones.

 

[Nakosis]

Do you really believe that greed drives innovation? I believe people are just wired that way, Beethoven was not driven by greed to become a great composer, Newton wasn't driven by greed to become a great scientist. Throughout history, the brightest most innovative minds were not fortunate enough to have riches as a by product. I believe the innovators of our time are driven to innovate, because that is who they are, I truly believe greed has nothing to do with it and they would innovate whether they made 100K or 100 billion.

Greed is about wanting more. More power, more control, more success, more knowledge. Being obsessed by getting more. To get more than what they have. More food for example. The desire for more food than what they had drove our ancestors out of the trees.

Greed is not for money, it is for these other things that money can bring. Newton was driven by his greed for knowledge. Beethoven by his greed for the perfect score. Those not driven by greed will sit around complacent. Accept whatever is available/provided for them. It's the folks who are obsessed with wanting more than the status quo that drive humanity forward.

So yes I can see the complacent threatened by people who want more. However it's the people who want more and go out to get it that drag the complacent along with them into a better life.

 

[PureX]

... "a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (such as money) than is needed."
- Definition of GREED

And at the expense of everyone and everything else.

The difference between greed and ambition is that greed seeks to increase the self at the expense of the other, while ambition seeks to increase the self by creating increase for all concerned. An ambitious employee (or boss) is a great asset to a company because he seeks to increase his own lot by increasing the value of the company over all, and gaining from a share in it. A greedy employee (or boss) is a toxic detriment to a company as he seeks to increase his own lot by taking as much as he can get from everyone else involved, while giving as little as he can, in return. Americans, in particular, seem to have almost no comprehension of what greed actually is. As they have been falsely taught for many decades that greed is ambition, when it very clearly is not.

I have seen multiple posts on this thread expressing the idea that greed is good, and greed is a virtue, because someone thinks greed and ambition are one that same thing. It's scary to see just how imprinted this kind of lie has become in the minds of so many of us. Especially when it does SO MUCH HARM to all of us.