60 "Greed - The Downfall of the World"

I also think greed is the biggest problem in this world. I do not see much of a difference between greed and selfishness. I think they walk hand in hand.

You have a great way with words. It took me forever to get to the comments, lol. You are spot on. Watching the way world is going now. Humans and greed will be the end of it all. Great read.

Hi Greg, I think you've brought to light the tip of the iceberg. In my various uncoverings during my research on many different subjects I came across (by more than 1 source) the claim that the Rothschild family dynasty is worth some $500 trillion dollars, or approximately half of the wealth of the world. And that accumulation of wealth got it's start in banking. It makes you wonder "How much is enough?"

I think a lot of the problems we face here in the U.S. could self-resolve with the abolishment of the Federal Reserve. That, and maybe if we started living within our means and quit depending on credit for everything. Good article!

Gregas - I couldn't agree more with the premise that - assuming some other natural or man-made catastrophic extinction-level event doesn't lead to our downfall first - that human GREED is more than capable of bringing us down in and of itself! Great Hub, Gregas!

It is the greatest illusion of humankind : Greed

It's nice to see someone with the same ideas that I have been preaching out loud for years. Virtues are indeed important. And with those comes wisdom. Without any of those things, there is nothing good to be found. And greed is the number one virtue killer in the world. As we look all around ourselves, we see it to be absolutely true. Even those who actually think they are wise and good are NOT. Anyone who obtains wealth and holds it is exercising their greedy nature. There are far too many needy people in this world to hold on to personal wealth. And anyone who cares to know already knows what God thinks of those who are wealthy. "Eye of a needle"

I think about the idea that everyone is told they are individual but individual in a sense that it can lead to certain platform away from all else? The hope is the world can turn and find a realistic outlet and "greed" need can manifest some other way. Great article.

It is so hard to not become greedy in a society that just keeps telling you that you"need ' more and more to be happy. I honestly want more money in my life , but so I could do more for the causes I am passionate about and give my kids something more than just the basics. Parenting has been the only situation where I have wanted more than others to benefit my offspring. Must be a natural attitude... but one that needs to be tempered...

I completely agree with you, the world would be a much better place for everyone if there wasn't any greed or selfishness. I like Franklins virtues (I did not know of them before reading this) and I believe we would all be a lot happier if we all tried to live by them. Thank-you for trying to 'wake the world up' with this hub before greed becomes the end of us all.

Hello Greg,

I was literally just having this conversation a few minutes ago with a co-worker. I think that you and your brother-in-law are onto something. I am very interested in philosophies and how they affect social psychology. In a nutshell, it seems to me that the post-modern concept of relativism (everyone's perspective is their own truth and you cannot tell someone else that their truth is wrong) is at least partly responsible for the selfishness in our society. If you think about it, if a person believes that their beliefs, thoughts, and understandings are an immutable reality and truth then of course that person is likely to become selfish: after all, their reality depends on their defense of their perspective and we are all hardwired to survive and thrive mentally as well as emotionally and physically.

In short, I think that this philosophical plight is at least partially responsible for the pervasive selfishness of our world. You add to that the global nature of our culture and how we can spread and be influenced by the philosophies and beliefs of this world; what you get is a hyperactive, greedy, epidemic of selfishness that reinforces itself and our collective societal narcissism. At least I think so...

Gregas,

It's sad to think that your Hub would've been relevant a year ago and a year from now. Yup, greed has been the downfall of many humans for a while and it probably will get worse. I think greed and selfishness are almost interchangeable; I’m not really sure you can be one without the other. I don't think we've ever lived in such a "dog eat dog" time as we do now; it's every man for himself. What happened to putting others before ourselves? If everyone put others first, it would work itself back to us and we'd be in a pretty good place. Unfortunately, we spend most of our time fighting for ourselves or trying to ward off or fix the damage that is caused because of greed and so there is no time to put others first because we're busy cleaning up our own mess.

Hello Greg. these points of yours are all mind blowing plus ur brother-in-laws too. i am a 10 std girl and this is the topic for my project. i tried dozens of sites but nothing worked. later my dad gave me this URL. i was so happy. it was perfect. u wont believe i got 19/20 for this composition. thanks a ton.

Hi Gregas, The reason the world is such a mess today is because of greed.

I don't think we can spend ourselves out of this situation - we need a major paradigm shift. Annie

YOU ARE DEFFINETLY RIGHT THIS IS THE GREED ONLY WHICH FORCE PEOPLE TO MOVE IN WRONG DIRECTION !!!

@Gregas,

Greed breathes; it is like a human impersonator. By this I mean that, Greed is alive but not visible, visible only by working inside of people, humans. Unfortunately, the social system in general cause Greed to be a part of its existence. There are so many people today who would like to stay good and not indulge in Greed, but when some of them notice how those who are greedy move fast up the ladder, they will have no other choice than to join the train. Greed did not exist on its own, we, the people, gave it life and makes it to exist.

I couldn't agree with you more. I am hopeful the current economic crisis will encourage people to change, to focus less on possessions and more on humanity.

Hi,

This is a very well-written hub. I agree with your views as well as your brother- in law. We live in a society where many people think it's all about them.. Selfishness and greed go hand in hand as well as envy. People hate on others for various reasons instead of working on improving themselves.

Great hub, nailed it. But actually, I think that greed is so endemic, that we average humans are also greedy. Greed isn't confined to the glass towers (also, it could be argued that what drives the activity within the glass towers, is what we choose to consume...)

For example, we think it normal to have certain basic things, like a TV. But who says a TV is useful? Does it help one spiritually? Or maybe, we have a sandwich, and then want another one, but it isn't at all necessary to have another one. That is greed, really, surprisingly.

I read recently that what we regard as the poverty line is really the distraction line. We don't *need* most of the things we want, even certain basics, but only require them in a distraction sense. But we want more - because we're greedy!

Great topic, hub voted up!

Sorry for the delayed response to your question, been quite busy lately, however, in a way I did actually answer your question before you asked it. I believe as Express10 mentioned that controlling greed relies on the individual, which is why I said in my first comment "Greed is the one thing that the world could definitely go without, however that involves everyone to take self-responsibility."

Very True Gregas! Greed is destroying the world...

Controlling greed should rest with the individual. Greed is something that is very difficult to control through external sources because people usually have an internal motivation to be greedy. The forces behind this motivation cannot be legislated away and in some people's minds they're smarter than anything that can bring harsh consequences. I think that the law is often an effective deterrent for many people's greed but of course this does not stop what is seemingly natural behavior for others. Greed could be impossible to stamp out completely. In some cases there can be so much greed in an individual or a group, that they are compelled to act upon it even if it is unlawful. And as you likely know, the well connected and already deep pocketed will likely stand a very good chance of not even getting a slap on the wrist. However, it is by making the greedy lay in the bed they made that they (and others) learn that what they have done is wrong. However, taking a look at how the big banks have gotten off Scott free with bonuses to boot, shows how they didn't even get a slap on the wrist and received gov't bailouts on top of their misdeeds. I could not be a supporter of anything that has the intended or unintended effect of discouraging people from becoming rich. As thought provoking as your article is, as far as a solution, I remain stumped!

Wow...what an excellent, well thought out and articulated article. You certainly hit the nail on the head with the problems facing this self centered world today. Alas, even if we had a Ben Franklin today, many would shun his views and that in and of itself is a sad commentary.

Great hub -I wouldn't argue with a word of it .

Great hub. I have always thought that it is greed that's destroying the world along with the profit driven monetary system which fuels and drives that greed. We have put "money" before the most important part of our world and that is people.

We really at some point need to move past money but I don't think we are ready for that yet. The destruction of our world at the expense of the people has to stop. It is greed driven by money that is doing this.

Greed is world's biggest problem yesterday, today and tomorrow as Mahatma Gandhi once quoted “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”

Thanks for writing this! A very interesting hub! Voted up!

fabulous and so well said. I agree about selfishness; big problem today.

thanks for writing this , very inspirational.

I could not agree more, greed will destroy the world, it is the root of all evil. Greed is the one thing that the world could definitely go without, however that involves everyone to take self-responsibility. Thanks for the great read.

You and your brother are right. Particularly with the statement about the two human traits that drive social interaction. It really rings true because this is all that I see going on around me. You have created a very interesting hub here. Thanks.

I absolutely agree with you! Greed is society's downfall and it only gets worse. My husband and I have this conversation quite a bit and it just sickens us around holidays like Christmas, where the world seems more concerned about getting the latest gadgets. The true meanining of Christmas is lost and society continues to exploit materialism. It is especially hard to be a parent to children who constantly question why their friends have this and that. However, what we stress t0 them is that they are more rich than any of those friends could ever be because they learn how to work hard for what they want and appreciate even the smallest of things they do have.

You and your brother have hit the preverbial nail on the head. Even if we destroy ourselves by one of your mentioned disasters, it will be because of greed and selfishness. Fantastic hub!

I agree with the sentiments you expressed here. Greed and selfishness will lead to the destruction of the human race.

Yep, you're pretty much spot on. What kills me is that there are greedy, selfish, wealthy individuals that have more than their glutinous lifestyle could ever hope to consume, yet they ruthlessly pursue even more usually at the cost of taking away from someone in need.

Really not anything but greed is going to hit the world to crisis. Loved this huh and topic you have chosen was really great!

I agree that there are more greedy people around these days and I believe the greed and selfish seeds are being sown in our children at a younger and younger age. By parents who are too soft to say no and low life, in your face big corporations who launch advertsing campaigns targeted at children whose parents are to soft to say no!!! (I must sound like I'm going around in circles) Anyway the outcome of this is the kids get what they want, what they see splashed all over TV, billboards and everywhere they look and then when they get what they want they are not interested in it anymore because something bigger and better is being dangled in front of their noses and on it goes. Treats seem to be a thing of the past. So many children seem to get what they want, when they want it and special occasions such as Christmas and birthdays just aren't special anymore.

Anyway that's my long winded rant (I could go on and on about this subject), but I guess what I want to say most is you are absolutley right, Gregas. My votes to you.

Hi Gregas. This is an excellent hub—one that needed to written. Thanks for writing it so well.

It seems to me that many very wealthy people and organizations are extremely greedy for money, resources, and especially power. Huge global conglomerates do not care that their profit comes from the backs of slave labor (i.e. chocolate producers) or that their cheapest way of getting something destroys the earth and ‘smaller’ people (i.e. companies that genetically modify seeds). It is as if they feel they must acquire everything they possibly can at whatever expense, while they can, because the opportunity they are now exploiting will end soon.

I believe that there are more people in the world who care about eliminating greed than there are those who exploit people and situations to their own exclusive benefit. I also believe that with global communication available to us (like never before) we can do something (each of us and all of us together) to greaty lessen the practice of greed.

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.” -commonly attributed to Edmund Burke, who said, "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle."

I suspect (and hope) that 2012 is the year that we begin to see the actions we (as a group) can take to end the acts of greed that, if not checked, will destroy us.

Vote up, useful and awesome.

You said it so right. GREED, SELF AND PRIDE is the Masterpiece for a disaster. Perilious times are ahead. May the God of Heaven and the Earth make Us ready to face the stormy seas.

Thanks for sharing

My older brother was once quite wealthy, but now he's just like the rest of us. I asked him once why the rich don't just accept what they have and allow the rest of us to have a chance at getting ahead. His comment: "people never get enough or have enough." It made me physically ill, but it also woke me up. You nailed it, my friend...greed will be the end of us. Thanks for this one.

nicely presented idea

Completely agree. Their greed also affects politics. Currently in Britain the social policy has been changed to squeeze those on benefits. They say it is necessary to weed out those who are not entitled to it or bleeding the system. This is what has been sold to the taxpayers.

However, policies created as a result also affect those who need it. The changes also affect information not being supplied as readily as that which is used for the witch hunt. So many do not know what they are entitled too and those that could have helped them such as advice centres have had their funds reduced.

This only means one thing, that destitution will soon become more prevalent. Destitution exists because of an imbalance of wealth. Those who have it and those who don't.

Thanks for the hub and letting me prattle. I enjoyed it.

Sir, there's no telling how many times I've said pretty much the exact thing you're stating here myself, and on this website as well.

I was going to go into how things are not made to last, but made to be used and thrown away....but then I realized that that too, of course, was a by-product of greed.

Humanity is SICK! Our system of values is totally wrong. It's all around us everywhere I look...candy wrappers and things that were built to fall apart so that someone would buy another, newer version of the same thing.

And why? So we can have that house bigger than we need it, drive that bigger than needed automobile, so forth and so on.

It's certainly scary what we're all facing - I think the best possible thing a wise person could do is to get used to getting by on as little as possible, and right now!!!

I am an artist, so I can say this . . . you are a beautiful man!

I'm not a shrink, so certainly not qualified to say if Greed is a genetic disorder or just a character flaw, but we all know some Greedy people. Perhaps someday science will find a cure for greed.

I have no idea how we would conquer Greed. If it something a person is born with, I suspect they will be greedy until the day they die. If it was something they were taught, perhaps they could be retrained to think differently. Most of the really greedy probably don't even realize this is a character flaw they should be working on.

Awesome hub, i agree with you 100% greed will destroy this planet .

Vote Up !!!

Thanks for the hub -it has opened my eyes-and greed is a problem even with our own families-and jealous friends--maybe the answer is to start appreciating the small things to work out the big things.To help each other is a terrific goal.

Greed certainly is a major problem in this world we are living in today. It appears as if "The more these glutenous folks get, the greedier they tend to get."Take for example,these present nationwide demonstrations against corporate greed. This shows us that creed is indeed causing a great deal of harm to people.

Powerful words and yet the ones who need to read this are the very ones who are responsible for the blazing fire of destruction. Will it ever turn for the better, and why are feelings transformed into actions of greed?

I have been reading up on Ben Franklin lately, he accomplished many feats in his lifetime, yet sadly they are not remember by the people who want change.

Thank you for an insightful and powerful read. It made my week.

Powerful stuff. Indeed the worst traits like greed are also the ones which are the downfall of many. Greed especially turns lots of humans into animals just snapping at everyone to get everything for themselves till there is nothing left to get anymore.

Simply put and to the point. Awesome hub!

You hit the nail on the head. I have the seven deadly sins memorized and try to avoid them at all costs for they WILL bring down a society and we seem to be well on our way.

Enjoyed your hub! vote up

Voted up as you are right on the money, greed and self-interests will be the end of us, however there is a ray of hope, as many of our young people are beginning to help others in less fortunate countries during their vacations

Greed is indeed what will cause the downfall of our world if it continues unchecked. I never understood greed but have to deal with it everyday. As the saying goes "ABOSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY" I guess that includes all of the seven sins you mentioned. Keep up the good work. :)

Greed is the instigator of most of the hideous crimes that we seem to see in the world. Excellent hub,gregas.

I voted this hub up because it is totally correct. Greed is destroying everything and I wish we would learn and stop our destructive path.

You are so right.. greed and selfishness is mans downfall. It has gotten worse and worse. Great HUB.

I voted up and awesome and interesting

Debbie

Hello,

I do think you have targeted the worst of the worst..Sadly our world is run by many whose god is money. There are many good people out there too who try hard to make the world a better place. It is like running in place many times and may be the only thing that keeps us from falling into a deeper dark place. Thanks for sharing a very informative and interesting hub filled with wisdom.

Sunnie