One of the most detrimental human foibles from the time immemorial would undoubtedly be greed. Labelled as one of the deadly sin, humans who let themselves be overwhelmed by this trait will never be satisfied with what they have, but continues to be in the relentless pursuit of money, wealth, or power. In a bid to do so, more often then not, they resort to taking away things that is not rightfully theirs. Those who are less fortunate will be the victims and must suffer inadvertently. A CHINESE philosopher Lao Tzu wrote 2,500 years ago: 'There is no calamity greater than lavish desires, no greater guilt than discontentment and no greater disaster than greed.' Indeed, if we are unable to control our desire, greed will reared its ugly head in our lives and ravaged everything that we have.
First and foremost, it steadily eats away at the cornerstones of civilized society and undermines the visions, values and collective aspirations that made us strong. For a society to be solid and unbreakable, people within the community must demonstrate altruistic traits in which each of them is willing to help and support one another. For instance, in Singapore's multiracial society, Chinese as the majority must be willing to help the Malays and Tamils, address their concerns, so that an understanding can be created. However, should the Chinese close an eye and use governments expenditure for the sake of Chinese community, this will trigger anger and dissatisfaction among the other racial groups. Greed makes the world goes blind.
However, it is an undeniable fact that greed also fuels our civilization and industrialization. The driving force of scientists to do their research, TNCs to expand their businesses, is in fact greed. The greed to know more, have more, possess more. Without the greed of our forefathers to have easier transport means, we would not have airplanes, cruises, and cars today. Respectively, without the greed of having wider knowledge about the world, we would not have explored the 5 continents.
An economics professor at George Mason University, maintains that without greed, our current economic and social structures would implode. Greed locks us into discontent, which in turn keeps us motivated and itchy for change.
As coins has 2 sides, greed also has its advantages and detriments. It is up to us, humans, to control our desire and prevent it from engulfing us.
