The desire for power

The desire for power is another facet of greed in its extreme. Greed has a huge appetite for power thus making people ruthless in their efforts to achieve it. Power is an addictive vice. I realized that numerous lawmakers have a high sentiment of themselves, regularly searching race out of a requirement for force and acknowledgment that gets to be unquenchable once they're in office. 

Business pioneers are not resistant to this desire for force. When one is around those conspicuous individuals, One feels effective, as well! Meher Baba dictated that "Greed is a state of restlessness of the heart, and it consists mainly of craving for power and possessions. Possessions and power are sought for the fulfillment of desires. Man is only partially satisfied in his attempt to have the fulfillment of his desires, and this partial satisfaction fans and increases the flame of craving instead of extinguishing it. Thus greed always finds an endless field of conquest and leaves the man endlessly dissatisfied. The chief expressions of greed are related to the emotional part of man".

How greed for power and wealth can result in the destruction of oneself as well as others is clearly illustrated in Shakespears world famous play, Macbeth. Most of us have atleast read Macbeth once in our school days.  The play's central character, Macbeth is not happy as a high-ranking thane - leading him to assassinate Duncan to become King, while unknowingly dooming himself.  Throughout the play many examples are evident of Macbeth's unquenchable thirst for power.  It is a worth reading play. Macbeth basically attempting to cover the grimy strides deserted his journey for force he had demolished two families and murdered pure and defenseless individuals. Macbeth, before his energy would have kicked the bucket battling against this very thing. At last, when it was the ideal opportunity for Macbeth to lose the throne and his energy, he couldn't acknowledge the truth. Macbeth had gotten to used to the power, he was murdered attempting to keep it. What acquired Macbeth up the world additionally had sent him tumbling down.

Shakespeare utilizes the character Macbeth to show the unavoidable aftereffect of greed. The play unmistakably outlines the avarice driven transformation of Macbeth. He starts as a kind man who executes just in fight in the most gallant circumstances, and finishes as a dreadful man who assaults the unprotected and pays proficient killers to murder for him. Macbeth distinctively delineates an existence absurdly lived, as Macbeth fates himself while seeking after an empty objective. Just like the protagonist in Shakespears story, we have many power hungry politicians, lawmakes and corporate who do not realize that the ladder that they are using to climb the building of power is as rotten as a criminals. Since a lot of people are participating in the race so definitely one criminal is more crooked than the other in order to win. The remaining people either join the race or are the victims of the results of these monsters.

 

Corruption

Another very readily acceptable aspect of greed is in the form of corruption. This venomous snake is worldwide long with extremely divergently branching tongues that's drops venoms in almost all sections, departments and compartments of life, society and politics. Who doesn't know what corruption is? Corruption is when a high profile beaurocrate accepts money for a chore that’s not legitimate letting the unworthy into the system and dragging the worthy out of it. This not leads to frustration in the common hard working man but instead misleads the systems of a community or a country that form the very basic foundations of social setup.

Corruption is when the traders of a society sell their below quality products as high end things out of greed for more and more profit without caring about the marring their reputation. This sets up new standards for accumulating riches caring less for quality or standards.

Corruption is also when societies who claim to help the poor and needy fraudulently digest all money or any other collectables themselves without any guilt of the thousands and thousands of hungry mouths that are waiting and remain waiting. What a pity. The donors think their donations are in the right hands whereas the recipients are kept waiting for food and clothing as promised. Both the groups kept in the dark by the corrupt participants. Yes greed is the only sin that drags a person to a level to forcefully snatch another man’s right of mere survival. What an evil sin?

Corruption and politics have become inseparable. Most of the political figures (usually in the less developed countries) are either corrupt themselves or turn a blind eye to corruption making holes in the political system. Even the judicial system in many regions of the world is highly influenced by corruption. The end result is obvious, a country with weak political and judicial systems is like incapacitated prey in front of the hunter.  

Corruption is not only involves money but also involves the aspects of our everyday life. Let me mention her corruption of our hearts. Maligning people and creating rifts between them by our everyday harmful habit of gossiping has dug deep in our hearts. Before we know it we actually insulted, degraded and deprived someone of his self respect regardless of the fact that he be devoid of all these vices in the first place. We pretend to be ignorant of the consequences this can generate. How cruel are human beings?

Corruption not only affects the heart but also the souls. Had it not been the case then how can people on one side of the planet can have the fanciest food to eat and not only the their plates are full but even the trash can are full of leftovers, where else not far from is a group of  physically and mentally similar or maybe even better human beings who do not even have a drop of clean water to drink. How cruel are we?

We have lost so much to greed. So much that we did not realize when the evolution of man to monster happened. Just one deadly virus of greed has culminated into a spectrum of envy, backbiting, cruelty and inhumanity.

 

Dowry - a social face of greed

Now let take a look how greed seeps in our culture without us even realizing it until the whole system gets used to it as a norm whereas deep down it is actually busy cutting the roots of the civilization. A very common form of this situation is how dowry is taken as a norm in especially the South Asian culture. I especially mention the South Asian culture because the problem is at its extreme in this civilization. We will take a quick peek at how this termite is eating up our wooden house.

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every mans need but not every mans greed" Mahatma Gandhi.

One of the most noticeably awful disasters of this society is the custom of dowry. "Dowry" implies the property and cash that a lady conveys to her other half's home at the time of her marriage.  Toward the starting it was deliberate, however later on the social pressure was such that not many could escape from it.

Dowry can range from cash, utensils, property or furniture thus bringing joy to the greedy however what an evil curse on the girls’ family for bearing this enormous burden of illegitimate demands going through both mental and financial tortures at the same time, and in most cases the bride’s parents cannot even afford it. According to me this harassment and in no religion, country or culture harassment is considered legal. 

Maybe a decade or two ago the grooms parents would atleast verbally request the bride’s family not to go through the hassle but nowadays with the global inflation on the rise, people have actually started looking forward to it  as mean some extra help for them . Not only the groom benefits from it but the whole family lurks for it. And guess what plants the seed of the need to seek dowry? What is evil that nurtures this sin? What else but Greed.

Only  the greed for accumulation and hoarding can cultivate in a human the need to stoop so low to  ask for material things from his brides family instead of being grateful for to the family for blessing him with their most prized possession, their daughter ,a piece of their heart and soul.

There was a time in the past when the qualities looked in a life partner were education, morals, virtues and maybe beauty but now in this new era of modern technology wherein mankind has reached a different dimension of success but the mental capacity to be lured by money has become worse and  by the standards of greed who cares if the bride is uneducated ,has no moral values or even ugly as long as she brings with her cash , jewelry , furniture and even property to stabilize the groom and his family and if they stable enough it will atleast satisfy their hunger and greed.

What happens when the bride does not bring enough dowry with her? The answer is read in many news papers and the cry is heard all over the world. Women are beaten, burnt and killed. Greed has made humanity fall down on its knees and loose its grace by asking for dowry.

"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have" Socrates.

 

The mother of all sins

Reproduction as a process for evolution and progress has become such an integral part of our social systems that even traits like lust and envy are being multiplied. Although the physical source stays the same, that is humans, but the mother of these baby sins is the same characteristic of humans that has infested the socio-economic system, greed. The root cause of almost all the sins end up leading to greed being the culprit.

Not only this extreme desire of want can shake the economic bridge of the fellow humans in the community, but also can end up in many kinds of mutations. I would like to call them unhealthy resistant mutations the cure to which is becoming more and more difficult to develop. In my previous blogs I have talked a lot about how greed can lead to illegitimate desires of  wanting more and more monetary benefits leading to a successful human but ultimately shaking the foundations of the rest of the social group to which he/ she belongs. Now let's talk about the offsprings greed can generate. For example, envy can be called the most common mutation of greed leading to desire more, compete more and of course accumulate more. It is so common that it affects almost 100 percent of the population to a level that it can actually drain a person of his peace. "There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontentment, and there is no greater disaster than greed", Lao Tzu. Envy can be branded as a psychological state discontentment.

Another version of greed is accumulation. The same desire for accumulation can reduce the fear of loss but an unguarded desire to accumulate more and more can ultimately lead to the parent sin of greed at its worse manifesting as undue stacking of monetary and other possessions which will ultimately to a limited extend gratify one and knowingly or unknowingly shaking the balance of economic distribution in the society. Throughout history we have seen people die to become rich and finally if it does happen to someone it is not always the best thing that happened to them. "There are only two tragedies in life; one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it “Oscar Wilde.

Another heinous form of greed is sexual lust. Originally incorporated in human beings as a means of human reproduction and also to some extent an expression of love, it has mutated to a criminal level of rapes, adultery and unfaithfulness cultivating in deactivating family systems. The number of rapes per year in many countries has risen to an alarming level. Another offspring of greed is fraud. Fraud is the daughter of greed. - Jonathan Gash, The Great California Game. Most of the fraudulent acts in any part of the world usually involve money.

However there is a kind of greed that is not harmful instead is very fruitful if utilized the right way. It is the greed for truth and knowledge. This rare kind of greed is the only kind not sought by humans since there is always a natural attraction towards the evil.

 

Greed as a vital sign of a successful life

Our competitive lives in a society makes us connect greed to self- interest and thus thrive on it more and more in the fear of loss or falling behind in a community. Of central importance are the distinctions between greed and desire and between acquisition and satisfaction. Emphasis is placed on the connection between greed and loss, with greed understood as a response to the threat. Greed, desire and self interest leading to acquisitiveness rendering monetary success.

The idea  that  greed , desire and self interest run in a self sustaining cycle is the basis of success in social institutions. You see, the desire for self interest leads to the fear of loss and the continuing greed to be successful and ultimately the process runs in cycle. Though prominent in shaping our thinking about self-interest, the part played by greed is as often denied as acknowledged. The foreswearing of avarice communicates the inner conflict it incites, which comes from the risk it postures or appears to posture. 

There is an inevitable link between greed and destructiveness.  The destructive aspect of greed is treated as a threat that must be made acceptable to continue growing. Joan Riviere notes that greed "represents an aspect of the desire to live. …  By its very nature it is endless and never assuaged; and being a form of the impulse to live, it ceases only with death" (1964, pp. 26-7; see also Hyatt-Williams 1998, p. 46) .  However destructive greed may be, its connection to our sense of aliveness and vitality lets it grow deeper and deeper in the society.

There is a difference between need and desire. The need limits to sustained economic of life whereas the desire for an object means something more than the need to have it to sustain life and in this sense desire has no limits. 

Greed has two aspects of particular importance, exclusiveness and withholding from others (Greenberg and Mitchell 1983, pp. 128-9), This second aspect of greed is well expressed by Harold Boris when he distinguishes between greed and appetite according to whether satisfaction is a possibility or not.  Unlike appetite, "further gratification only stimulates … greed" (Boris 1994, p. 38).  

However well known the thought of covetousness might be, it should likewise be a riddle accurately due to its refusal to be fulfilled. It is a yearning, but then it is definitely not. This is on account of covetousness' end is not to pick up fulfillment but rather to dodge dissatisfaction. We keep away from dissatisfaction not by picking up fulfillment, but rather by surrendering craving and supplanting it with something else. What shows up as the quest for self-interest may be the looking for after fulfillment of craving, or it may be the push to maintain a strategic distance from yearning and supplant it with something regarded of less threat to the self.

So self-interest connected to greed becomes both self-denial and an attack on others associating a greedy person as an example of the survival of the fittest in the society. Greed may appear in the form of acquisitiveness rendering the impulse to acquire ultimately leading to limitlessness. Not to forget here that one mans gains is another mans loss.

Thus, the "longing or greed for good things can relate to any and every imaginable kind of good--material possessions, bodily or mental gifts, advantages and privileges…" (Riviere 1964, p. 27).  

Types of greed

By my standards greed has no character of its own . It is defined by the human it has infested . However the manifestations are astounding, just like a silent cancer which is invisible in the beginning and then suddenly one day when it has becomes out of control and manifest the characteristics of the final disease.

However according to the Bible there are four different kinds of greed. Lets look at them one by one just to have a clearer view of the situation here.

Type 1. Accumulation

This sort of ravenousness tends to infest the heart of upright, taught, composed individuals. It preys on a man's capacity to steadily set aside reserve funds, adding frequently to the aggregate. Obviously, we all do this . But insatiability in the life of a hoarder makes him rely more on the money he accumulates than God and that he can't be liberal with his cash until he has put aside enough cash to guarantee an agreeable retirement. 

The hoarder is unreliable about what's to come. His eagerness to trust cash instead of God with his future drives him to disregard the necessities of other individuals. He feels his first obligation is to hoard enough advantages for secure what he accept will be a protected future. However, a hoarder falls into the trap of utilizing every one of his assets to advantage one and only individual: the hoarder. And leaving the rest of the community to suffer the effects of ones greed .

Type 2. Overspending 

This type of eagerness fits simple into the life of an anxious individual. The overspender mistakes requirements for needs and, accordingly, spends more than his pay permits, in this way prompting obligation. He needs things now and will utilize credit to abstain from waiting. 

Type 3. Comparative
Insatiability sustains the focused sense that it's basic to coordinate the way of life of another person. It drives you to spend and continue spending as an approach to demonstrate that you are equivalent to a neighbor, companion, colleague, or relative. This type of eagerness is firmly adjusted to envy. 


Type 4. Privilege 
In any case, voracity preys on everybody, regardless of what their total assets articulation resembles. When you trust the untruth that wealth originates from your belonging, you will discover avarice sneaking in the shadows. Greed lies behind a sentiment qualification, the feeling that another person owes you something. An entitled individual trusts an untruth: "I don't have the cash for it, so another person should purchase it for me. All things considered, I should have it–and without working for it." This face of ravenousness dependably shows an absence of appreciation and regularly uncovers outrage. Privilege sends individuals on a devouring orgy. 

If you think of life as like a big pie, you can try to hold the whole pie and kill yourself trying to keep it, or you can slice it up and give some to the people around you, and you still have plenty left for yourself. - Jay Leno

 

 

Genetics of greed

Hi everyone, I'm just a newbie so I wanted to start my blogs with a topic that leaves an indelible mark on one’s mind. That's why I have chosen to write on a common yet controversial topic of greed. Greed or ravenousness has a solid natural basis but even deeper social roots. To look at avarice and how it fits into human psychology, we have to begin from the beginning. 

Here I would like to quote Rabindranath Taggorehe "The greed of gain has no time or limit to its capaciousness. Its one object is to produce and consume. It has pity neither for beautiful nature nor for living human beings. It is ruthlessly ready without a moment's hesitation to crush beauty and life". The meaning of voracity is a great or unnecessary yearning for assets, particularly for property, for example, cash, land, or different images of riches. 

In fundamental terms, "over the top" is having something to such an extent it's unsafe. For instance, extreme drinking prompts unconsciousness and despising yourself in the morning. Extreme eating prompts corpulence. These are viewpoints that a great many people would concur as hurtful. 

In any case, every one of these things is destructive just to the person. However the questions that pops up are when did greed become an integral part of human nature? And how could a yearning for riches be hurtful? Each individual needs a level of riches to survive: you have to purchase sustenance, pay the rent, get apparel, transportation, buy food and there is paying for vacations and self grooming etc., without cash you could starve to death, something that is certainly destructive. Moreover, the more money you have, the better the quality of life. Let me repeat, how could a yearning for riches, and in this "manner the things it gets you, be hurtful?

The answer lies in the fact that humans are social and cultural animals. In spite of the fact that for the individual eagerness (a powerful urge for riches) is great, the social gathering that individual has a place with might think voracity is terrible for the community.

The principal needs of people have also changed. Now it's not only the food and the basics but there is also land to develop sustenance, and extra cash to be accumulated and luxuries like cars etc. 

Now addressing how greed stems up in the society? The issue actually began with the expanding population and the constrained of wealth. In the beginning there was only a limited amount of wealth, land and cash and different assets to go around. Along these lines, for one individual to store up a ton of riches, the need developed to diminish what another person could get. This made clash in the general public between those who are well off and the less wealthy, the hard workers and the no-getters. 

A community should be supportive of its members with respect to creating as much equality between people as possible. And thus we have laws, religious and cultural codes of conduct to avoid too many riches and wealth in a few hands. And ultimately restricting greed.

So greed is highly acceptable when on an individual level but extremely and highly unacceptable on a social level. Whereas I would like to think that greed is just another step in the ladder of materialism, but I would not be wrong in saying that it has now become a basic component of our DNA sequence and emerges as an inevitable state of mind in the pathologically psychological human communities.