by friendlyskies » Fri Mar 30, 2012 6:35 pm
It kind of depends on who you are and the values in your social group. It's like asking, "Is the sex drive good?" Uh, it exists, which makes it neither good nor bad. It leads to children and happy marriages, as well as raping altar boys and shooting Ronald Reagan (and missing), so, well..... for instance.
If you're Christian, esp Catholic, greed is definitely a one-way ticket to an eternity being tortured in hell.
If you're a communist, greed is probably a one-way ticket to a lifetime being tortured in the gulag (or, a key position in the Communist Party, depending on how smart/lucky/social/etc you are).
If you're a smart, socially adept USAmerican with access to resources, education and infrastructure, greed will probably convince you to choose a high-paying career.
If you're not particularly smart, socially adept, or have access to resources and/or education, greed will more likely lead you to either a life of crime, or a life of frustration because you won't accumulate that much stuff.
If you're a woman trying to choose between true love and a wealthy older suitor, greed will probably lead to a lifetime of sexual frustration, bad plastic surgery, and coddling wrinkly old-man balls with your diamond-encrusted fingers while you try to get the Viagra flowing.
If you like food, greed will probably make you fat.
If you like alcohol, greed will probably make you an alcoholic, and maybe fat.
If you like clothes/cars/iPods/etc and aren't smart enough to get a good job but have managed to figure out how to apply for credit cards, greed will almost certainly make you broke.
etc etc etc etc
Anyway, I was raised Christian and, while I don't believe in the mythological underpinnings of the religion anymore, I am glad that some of the lessons stuck with me. For instance, the "greed is a one-way ticket to hell" thing, and "neither a borrower nor lender be," which is a similar sentiment in a rent-to-own world, have both benefited me. I'm no longer afraid of going to hell, at least not consciously, but I do imitate the Christians in that they don't use credit or take out loans. I mean yes, yes, I have credit cards and use them (I'm not a real Christian, obviously), especially for travel and emergencies, but not to buy iPods or whatever.
But maybe I should have been more greedy, who knows. Oh well, blah blah blah sorry.
"4 cylinder Camaro=communism" El Presidente
"You can smoke salmon but it's not quite the same as smoking heroin." nanuq