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Why are humans "greedy"?


Mr Walker

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I suppose you could eat a Vegan? I guess they'd taste like chicken.. :lol:

*shudders* I couldn't eat the grubs, I've got some Huhu Bugs very similar to whitchity grubs in the forest.. I haven't read that book either, sounds interesting..

There is something very interesting to learn from people who have no form of currency.. They trade openly and fairly because there is no incentive to have more than their neighbours, and no incentive to be wealthier than their fellow man.. I mean.. Imagine that! Trading fairly without making a profit!! Wall street would crumble!! Sure these people might live in a bracken hut with a dirt floor and they cook their food with dried dung... But they are happier living like that than a lot of us will ever be.. And there is no reason why these people or us, couldn't live the same way in modern towns or cities and drop the greed the monetary system has created.

when you find the place let me know!

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Deliberately vague. Deliberately open. I dont want to say any more, including my own train of thought, for fear of directing peoples' thoughts, but I'd be interested in any opinions, spiritual or physical, on this.

You will be letting us know your thoughts eventually I hope?

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"Greedy" is a subjective judgement which not only depends on who you ask, but is based on abstract ideals of right and wrong which are meaninggless to nature. Why then should it be assumed to be something inherent or natural to the human condition?

That is why i put greedy in quotation marks.

To elaborate. Humans tend to use more than they need ot survive or even to live comfortably. They throw away perfectly good items to buy new ones. eg mobile phones They buy new clothes each year in the name of fashion. They actually desgn mnufactured goods, not to last, but to break down after a period of time.

Planned obslescence has long been a part of modern industry.I take other writers points. We tend to act like squirrels or animals who go through lean and good times but we are also self aware. We know we do not have to eat constantly.Wwe know the damage unbridled consumption does, yet we continue with it.

I will keep watching for some deeper reasons Eg are we taught from childhood to be greedy and self centered. or is it a "natural" condition?

Ps the number of replies in such a short time took me by suprise, but perhaps it struck a chord, especially at this time of year.

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We are born with basic needs for food, shelter, and love. These give us a sense of security.

Our capitalist societies play upon that to "condition" us to be consumers. That's our "job" in the economy. Work to earn money, buy "stuff", use it, throw it away, then repeat.

Television bombards us with "conditioning" to the point that exuberance in today's society is sickening to the point of being pornographic. Consumption beyond definition. Bigger cars, bigger homes, bigger boats, designer clothes. Christmas has been corrupted to the point where it is now disgusting. Some large retailers do 25% of their annual business in the 6 weeks before Christmas...then Boxing Day the programmed masses are back out spending more money on big sales.

The rich and famous are worshipped by the media, bombarding us with their lavish images and driving the "wanna be like them" mentality deep into our subconscious.

For many people, their favorite pastime is "shopping".

We're not born greedy, Big Brother conditions us to be so in order to drive the big wheel called the economy.

Consumers, do yourselves a favor...start thinking for yourselves and not the corporate world.

This is a significant point. I agree with it as probably the greatest driver of greed today.

However there are other factors. My mother and father lived as young people through great depression where hunger was common and they didnt have shoes to wear so couldnt go to school. As a consequence, as a married couple, they tended to be cautious with money and to hoard things. They were establishing a buffer against hard times which never really came again to the same extent, but the way of life served them well through the downturns of the fifties and seventies. Theirs was not the sort of greed we see today but they tended to accumulate possessions and hang onto them for decades.

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You will be letting us know your thoughts eventually I hope?

Yes. As i said, it seemed like i only stepped away from the computer and there were 20 responses. For many reasons, fromm being a geographer/historian and sociologist through to my love of humanity, I worry about how people use so much more than they need. How we waste enough food to feed all the starving people Howw e consume all the earths resources just to have the latest gadget or dress And yet western humans are more unhappy and depressed today than ever before. It doesnt make sense to me, so i asked others. I was particularly motivated by the time of year when people spend huge sums on presents and entertaining, yet end up stressed and angry, while others have nothing to eat and no where to sleep.
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Ps next year i am going half time at work That wil drop our income from about $80000 to $40000. i wil top up a bit by using some of my superannuation but it wil still be a considerable reductionin income.

We give a lot of my earnings away to others in one form or another, and i will continue to do this, but i want to see if i can live on considerably less and trade off money for time, I will have more time to spend with my wife walk the dog etc. I love my job teaching young people, but it is harder at 61 than it used to be, especailly given the nature of modern teenagers.

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It is Natural For Human to be Greedy But We can Control ourselves for not being Greedy all the time....

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"I care for at least 3 persons. Me, myself and I."

"Everyone else is so selfish, they just care about themselves. It's only I who care about me"

Some the contemporary mantras we see today, but in reality we are more caring these days than we ever been in history. But unfortunately that doesn't say much.

Most people pursue excessive materialism in hope of fulfilling a inner yearning of something that cant be found by being insanely rich.

Regarding obsessive greed in nature, think of the squirrel collecting nuts, enough for a whole brigade squirrels surviving 8 consecutive winters, even though they are alone. ;)

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I'm not sure we are any more greedy than our animal cousins. In fact I'm quit sure humans are the only animals capable of great charity.

Human beings just have the capacity for planning. That's all greed is really about. Insecurity. Animals live within the rythems of their environment. We have given this up.

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i m not greedy! i am asian :) i love you long time ! how many dollars you got ?

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haha....Every Human is Greedy in different ways but some can control themself..

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Feeling good is awesome, getting more things that make you feel good makes way more sense then getting things that make you feel bad. People feel good because of different things. Personally I could give two flying monkey farts about money besides having enough to do what I want. I like people having friends and good times, those I will always try to acquire.

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It is Natural For Human to be Greedy But We can Control ourselves for not being Greedy all the time....

What natural factor makes us greedy, in your opinion, KrowMax?
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"I care for at least 3 persons. Me, myself and I."

"Everyone else is so selfish, they just care about themselves. It's only I who care about me"

Some the contemporary mantras we see today, but in reality we are more caring these days than we ever been in history. But unfortunately that doesn't say much.

Most people pursue excessive materialism in hope of fulfilling a inner yearning of something that cant be found by being insanely rich.

Regarding obsessive greed in nature, think of the squirrel collecting nuts, enough for a whole brigade squirrels surviving 8 consecutive winters, even though they are alone. ;)

I think you may have hit the nail on the head with the bolded bit. It is about need and security.

Somehow we have been convinced that what we possess defines who we are, and that external riches will make us rich inside. Interesting that that debate has been going on for at least 2000 years.

Human happiness is a quality which comes from within and is generated by us. And so we can choose what makes us happy. Actually we can simply choose to be happy, no matter what our material circumstances. Being warm and well fed helps, as does being loved and valued, but basically happiness is a choice available to any mentally well human being.

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I propose a race around the world to settle this! We shall meet at noon tomorrow, in London Square.The Queen herself shall see us off.

As I own all of the fastest transport, I'll be sure to win, I'll be there before noon

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What natural factor makes us greedy, in your opinion, KrowMax?

I believe it's in the genes .. I say this from what I was able to observe over time

I have never met a greedy person who is most selfish, that ever has it bad... Every greedy person I have met, always and still do, have it good... I am beginning to believe that only the greedy will have it good...

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Not all humans are greedy. I've always thought greediness is in part due to basic insecurity; that in order to feel good about themselves people need to feel superior, and acquiring more stuff than the next person makes them feel not only better about themselves, but also better than their neighbor.

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"I care for at least 3 persons. Me, myself and I."

"Everyone else is so selfish, they just care about themselves. It's only I who care about me"

:lol:

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Not all humans are greedy. I've always thought greediness is in part due to basic insecurity; that in order to feel good about themselves people need to feel superior, and acquiring more stuff than the next person makes them feel not only better about themselves, but also better than their neighbor.

Good point.

I think that's because a lot of people falsely believe their purpose in life is the aquisition of wealth, and that wealth will being happiness or at least cover up other gaps in their lives..

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It's easier to take from others than it is to do it yourself.

"Wickedness is always easier than virtue; for it takes the shortcut to everything."

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Greed is one of the qualities that separate us from almost every other organism on our planet!

All successful lifeforms here ,are extremely efficient... utilizing symbiotic exploitation of resources, to sustain a peaceful existence.

Except for us ! We consume , and consume, and consume. ..... It's almost as if we have a non satiable hunger, that we attempt to subdue.... but instead produce waste :(

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We are born with basic needs for food, shelter, and love. These give us a sense of security.

Our capitalist societies play upon that to "condition" us to be consumers. That's our "job" in the economy. Work to earn money, buy "stuff", use it, throw it away, then repeat.

Television bombards us with "conditioning" to the point that exuberance in today's society is sickening to the point of being pornographic. Consumption beyond definition. Bigger cars, bigger homes, bigger boats, designer clothes. Christmas has been corrupted to the point where it is now disgusting. Some large retailers do 25% of their annual business in the 6 weeks before Christmas...then Boxing Day the programmed masses are back out spending more money on big sales.

The rich and famous are worshipped by the media, bombarding us with their lavish images and driving the "wanna be like them" mentality deep into our subconscious.

For many people, their favorite pastime is "shopping".

We're not born greedy, Big Brother conditions us to be so in order to drive the big wheel called the economy.

Consumers, do yourselves a favor...start thinking for yourselves and not the corporate world.

Have you read Wealth of Nations? Interesting book. Unfortunately the "pretend capitalists" of today are creating a hugre monopoly to control prices and thus control the population. It is greed to price things high when you're the only one offering a product or a service. It is capitalism when one or more companies arrive and offer the same good at half the price for the good of the population. How many tv's have you in your nome? How many CD players? How many computers? The list could go ad nauseum. Greed does not comes from capitalists it comes from individuals who seek possession.

An unknown parable was tought amongs the "Compagnons du devoir et de la LIberte" (companions of duty and freedom) a now defunct stone cutter union known as the Cathedral builders: When JC was gathering his disciple for the first time, Simon Peter came to him and asked him: Master shouldn't we gather some food, as the trip is going to be long and difficult.

JC answered: Peter look at this crow on top of the tree. Does he gather some food for tomorrow?

Peter says: No Master he doesn't>

Are you dumber than this crow Peter?

I guess this says it all. I'm not christian and yet I find this particular saying useful.

there is a difference between need & greed.

I couldn't aggree more, but could you define need? Isn't need often confused with wants? The kid often tells me :You need a new car... when in fact it is his ego that would like to see me into something faster and more up to his taste. He often says also you need a new computerm but my five years old acer tells me everyday... I'm good I've got high mileage still left in me. Preparedness is a nessecity in the modern world. But how to draw the line?

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I couldn't agree more, but could you define need? Isn't need often confused with wants? The kid often tells me :You need a new car... when in fact it is his ego that would like to see me into something faster and more up to his taste. He often says also you need a new computerm but my five years old acer tells me everyday... I'm good I've got high mileage still left in me. Preparedness is a nessecity in the modern world. But how to draw the line?

Needs by my definition are the basic nessesities of life. Food, Water, Shelter, Love, education, good health & freedom to go wherever and be whoever you want to be.

Wants, by my definition, are 99% false and born of a disproportionate society (capitalism) where certain people have more. They have the fast car.. They have the latest gadgets. Wants are also born of Consumerism.. Commercials make people believe that the need the fast car, that their lives will be better if they wear Guuci.. That their sex lives will improve dramatically if they wear certain deodorants.. Wants are for the most part in our society born of Capitalism and Consumerism and a grosely disproportionate distribusion of resourses.. But that is not to say that all wants are false..

The other 1% of wants are true wants.. People want to live in a free society. People want their basic needs fulfilled.. People want the Wars to end and a brighter future for their children.. And where there is suddenly a nessisity to create or even achieve something that's just inspirational people will want to do that.. These good wants are born of Immagination and lead us to Invention and Creation, which imo is a human in a nutshell.

Edited by Professor T
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Needs by my definition are the basic nessesities of life. Food, Water, Shelter, Love, education, good health & freedom to go wherever and be whoever you want to be.

Wants, by my definition, are 99% false and born of a disproportionate society (capitalism) where certain people have more. They have the fast car.. They have the latest gadgets. Wants are also born of Consumerism.. Commercials make people believe that the need the fast car, that their lives will be better if they wear Guuci.. That their sex lives will improve dramatically if they wear certain deodorants.. Wants are for the most part in our society born of Capitalism and Consumerism and a grosely disproportionate distribusion of resourses.. But that is not to say that all wants are false..

The other 1% of wants are true wants.. People want to live in a free society. People want their basic needs fulfilled.. People want the Wars to end and a brighter future for their children.. And where there is suddenly a nessisity to create or even achieve something that's just inspirational people will want to do that.. These good wants are born of Immagination and lead us to Invention and Creation, which imo is a human in a nutshell.

To play devil's advocate, what if your wants do not coincide with your neighbor's wants?

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