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Greed: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Greed
The earth belongs to everyone, not only to the rich, wrote St. Ambrose of Milan in the year 389, yet the human heart often refuses to accept this simple truth. Greed is not merely a desire for more; it is a bottomless pit that exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy a need that never truly ends. This psychological state, described by Erich Fromm as a condition where the individual is haunted by an insatiable desire, transforms the pursuit of wealth into a form of self-destruction. Unlike the limited desire for food, which is capped by the capacity of the human stomach, the desire for conveniences, ornaments, and power has no boundary. Adam Smith observed this distinction clearly in the late 18th century, noting that while the rich man consumes no more food than his poor neighbor, the difference in their clothing, lodging, and household furniture is almost as great in quantity as it is in quality. This endless accumulation creates a state of restlessness, where partial satisfaction only fans the flame of craving rather than extinguishing it, leaving the individual in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction.
Ancient Roots of Avarice
In the annals of Classical Greek thought, the concept of pleonexy emerged as an unjust desire for tangible or intangible worth that attains to others, a notion discussed extensively by Plato and Aristotle. The mythic punishment meted to Tantalus serves as a grim reminder of this sin, where ever-present food and water are eternally withheld from him, symbolizing the torment of unfulfilled desire. The Roman Republic, which fell under the weight of its own internal corruption, was blamed by historians like Sallust and Plutarch for its demise due to a greed for wealth and power that consumed the Gracchi and Cicero alike. In the Persian Empires, the three-headed Zoroastrian demon Aži Dahāka represented unslaked desire as a fixed part of their folklore, while in the Sanskrit Dharmashastras, the Laws of Manu declared that the root of all immorality is lobha, or greed. These ancient cultures did not view greed as a modern economic variable but as a fundamental moral failing that threatened the stability of society, often imputing it as a racial pejorative against enemies like the Egyptians, Punics, or other Oriental peoples.
The Theological Condemnation
The moral foundations of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Bahá'í Faith all rest upon commandments that prohibit theft and covetousness, yet the theological struggle against greed has been a constant theme throughout history. St. Augustine argued in the fifth century that greed is not a defect in the gold that is desired but in the man who loves it perversely by falling from justice. St. Thomas Aquinas later stated that greed is a sin against God, as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things, and a sin directly against one's neighbor since one man cannot over-abound in external riches without another man lacking them. Dante Alighieri, in his 14th-century epic poem Inferno, assigned those committed to the deadly sin of greed to the fourth circle of Hell, where misers and hoarders must constantly battle one another, having lost their personality in their disorder. Martin Luther condemned the usurer as the greatest enemy of man after the devil, describing usury as a great huge monster like a werewolf who lays waste all, yet decks himself out to appear pious while the people suffer from hunger and thirst.
Common questions
What did St. Ambrose of Milan write about the earth in the year 389?
St. Ambrose of Milan wrote in the year 389 that the earth belongs to everyone, not only to the rich. He stated that the human heart often refuses to accept this simple truth.
How did Plato and Aristotle define the concept of pleonexy in Classical Greek thought?
Plato and Aristotle discussed pleonexy as an unjust desire for tangible or intangible worth that attains to others. This concept emerged in Classical Greek thought as a fundamental moral failing that threatened the stability of society.
What punishment did the mythic figure Tantalus receive for his sin of unfulfilled desire?
Tantalus received a punishment where ever-present food and water are eternally withheld from him. This symbolizes the torment of unfulfilled desire and serves as a grim reminder of the sin of greed.
What did Ivan Boesky state in his commencement address at the University of California, Berkeley on the 18th of May 1986?
Ivan Boesky stated on the 18th of May 1986 that greed is all right and that he thinks greed is healthy. This speech inspired the 1987 film Wall Street and the famous line spoken by Gordon Gekko that greed is good.
What is the genetic basis for greed according to research on the AVPR1a gene?
Research suggests there is a genetic basis for greed where people who have a shorter version of the ruthlessness gene, known as AVPR1a, potentially behave more selfishly. This condition is characterized by an insatiable desire for more and a dissatisfaction with what one currently has.
As the Enlightenment era dawned, thinkers began to distinguish greed from self-interest, a distinction that remains central to modern economic thought. Michel de Montaigne argued that it is not want, but rather abundance, that creates avarice, suggesting that the greatest folly is to expect fortune to arm us against herself. Jean-Jacques Rousseau compared man in the state of nature, who has no need of greed since he can find food anywhere, with man in the state of society, where the less natural and pressing his wants, the more headstrong are his passions. John Stuart Mill wrote in his essay Utilitarianism that the love of money is one of the strongest moving forces of human life, and that money is often desired in and for itself, becoming a principal ingredient of the individual's conception of happiness rather than a means to happiness. This paradoxical view suggests that while the desire for food is limited, the desire for the conveniencies and ornaments of building, dress, and equipage seems to have no limit, creating a society where the pursuit of wealth becomes an end in itself.
The Capitalist Engine
Karl Marx identified avarice and the desire to get rich as the ruling passions in the heart of every burgeoning capitalist, who later develops a Faustian conflict between the passion for accumulation and the desire for enjoyment. He argued that the restless never-ending process of profit-making alone is what the capitalist aims at, and that while the miser is merely a capitalist gone mad, the capitalist is a rational miser. The more he produces, the more he is able to sell, and the sum of his political economy is to sell much and buy little. This boundless greed after riches, this passionate chase after exchange-value, is common to the capitalist and the miser, but the capitalist attains the never-ending augmentation of exchange value by constantly throwing it afresh into circulation. Edward Gibbon, in his account of the Sack of Rome, remarked that avarice is an insatiate and universal passion, since the enjoyment of almost every object that can afford pleasure to the different tastes and tempers of mankind may be procured by the possession of wealth, leading to the pillage of palaces and the stripping of splendid furniture.
The Modern Defense
In the 20th century, the moral landscape of greed shifted dramatically with the rise of modern capitalism and the defense of avarice as a positive force. On the 18th of May 1986, Ivan Boesky delivered a commencement address at the University of California, Berkeley, in which he stated, Greed is all right, by the way. I want you to know that. I think greed is healthy. This speech inspired the 1987 film Wall Street, which features the famous line spoken by Gordon Gekko: 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. This modern perspective contrasts sharply with the warnings of Pope Paul VI, who in 1967 issued the encyclical Populorum progressio, warning that the exclusive pursuit of material possessions prevents man's growth as a human being and stands in opposition to his true grandeur. The tension between these views continues to pose fundamental questions in today's economic thinking, as the world struggles to reconcile the drive for accumulation with the need for social and moral development.
The Psychology of Possession
Beyond the economic and theological debates, greed has been explored as a psychological and even genetic phenomenon. Some research suggests there is a genetic basis for greed, with people who have a shorter version of the ruthlessness gene, known as AVPR1a, potentially behaving more selfishly. The psychological condition of greed is characterized by an insatiable desire for more, but also a dissatisfaction with what one currently has, leading to a state of restlessness of the heart. Meher Baba dictated that greed consists mainly of craving for power and possessions, and that 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. This psychological state is related to financial behavior, both positive in earning and negative in borrowing or saving less, and to unethical behavior, negatively relating to well-being. The desire for knowledge, like the thirst of riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it, as described by Laurence Sterne in his novel Tristram Shandy, where the more his uncle Toby pored over his map, the more he took a liking to it.
The Art of Avarice
The human obsession with greed has been captured in art and literature for centuries, serving as a mirror to society's deepest fears and desires. In 1558, Pieter van der Heyden personified greed in his engraved image after drawings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, while more recently, artists like Umberto Romano, Michael Craig-Martin, and Diddo have devoted works of art to the subject. The pirate Hendrick Lucifer, who fought for hours to acquire Cuban gold, became mortally wounded in the process and died of his wounds in 1627, hours after having transferred the booty to his ship, serving as a well-known example of greed inspiring scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects. The Quran advises against wasteful spending, stating that the wasteful are brothers of the devils, yet also warns against making one's hand chained to one's neck, highlighting the balance between accumulation and stewardship. From the dog-in-the-manger to the piggish behaviors of the wolverine, whose scientific name Gulo gulo means glutton, animal examples of greed in literary observations are frequently the attribution of human motivations to other species, reflecting the universal nature of this insatiable longing.