GREED versus NEED
A reader sent me an e-mail today that made me think about greed as the source of discontent in our society.
There is a connection between conservatism and greed but it is not an absolute “A=B”.
One can be ‘conservative’ (as I am) and not be greedy (as I am not).
Greed stems from conservatism but is not necessarily the end product. Too much conservatism is greed.
In other words, I want to be self-sufficient and in so doing I must accumulate enough of the ‘implements’ to do so. In primitive times this meant arrowheads, wood, skins and dried meat.
Today it is money. I feel money is a vehicle (a bartering medium) that will allow me to trade for those things that lead to my survival.
It has never been my goal to accumulate more than I feel is necessary to meet the goal of survival in a modern world– a world of taxes and shelter and fuel (energy) and transportation and food and some left over for pleasure.
Without some pleasure life becomes merely existence.
Those who accumulate simply with that as a goal are indeed greedy and that breeds resentment in those who are truly deficient.
This leads to extreme ‘liberalism’ using the vehicle of guilt to take from the truly greedy….and give to perhaps the less greedy.
How much is ’sufficient’? Who evaluates how much pleasure one is entitled to?
How much money do the apparently deficient allocate to pleasure that gives them the appearance of insufficient means of survival?
My grandfather’s favorite expression was, “Moderation in all things.”
In short be conservative (self-sufficient) but not greedy.
Unfortunately when it comes to money, money is often a way for many people to “keep score”. The motto here is, “More is better and when I get it I win”.
I’ve even heard it said that he/she who dies with the most “toys” wins.
Greed tends to make individuals promote things and ideas merely to make themselves more money. Therefore when it comes to believing individuals like T. Boone Pickens one tends to be very skeptical of what they have to say and the reasons for them saying it.
Recently there have been big promotions by some of the energy companies about “clean” coal. That goes right along with antiseptic feces!
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