Talk:Greed

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Merely a modern and marxist view on greed

There are other definitions of greed which stem from much older beliefs. To non-marxists, greed is living at the expense of others (socialism, for example). Greed is also often viewed as the will obtain material possessions by using violent aggression (statism). There are many opposing views of greed. This article represents only one of them, and a depraved one at that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.187.248.215 (talk) 08:44, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

An example of benign meaning for greed is on this etymology site: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Etymology-Meaning-Words-1474/Avarice-vs-Greed.htm#b "Greed, on the other hand, carries a more benign association in that it's related to appetite and therefore could be nuanced as an uncontrollable thing. YOU ARE AFOOL DAMN IT.each word covers. Greed specifically referred to food and therefore gluttony where as avarice referred to particularly money and possessions, but in medieval literature it was also used regarding people who held knowledge, power, authority, and/or information closely." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.137.115.172 (talk) 12:40, 18 October 2008 (UTC) f ghgfg The pirate Hendrick does not sound like an example of greed, but rather the extreme irrationality of the criminal mind. Equating greed with the idea of taking property by force is wrong. Greed, being a desire for more, implies nothing about morality. One can feel greed to have more and implement that desire by working hard and earning more, or by entering a life of crime. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.137.115.172 (talk) 12:55, 18 October 2008 (UTC)

Article quality

This thing needs a stub warning/thingie on it.

This entry seems more like something Gordon Gekko would say than a serious discussion on avarice and greed.

Indeed. It's also written from a uniquely US perspective: "the desire to acquire wealth has been understood as indispensable for economic prosperity" etc. 84.48.58.93 18:44, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. This whole thing could be rewritten to be much more interesting and make more sense; it's pretty random as it is. "the desire to acquire wealth has been understood as indispensable for economic prosperity- this is the trickle-down theory"? That has nothing to do with the trickle-down theory. --JdwNYC 02:58, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree that it should be a stub. It also deserves a POV warning. It is rare that an article qualifies for both at the same time.

Why do you think that this article is bias? I am new, and I would like to be better acquanted with the POV rules.

Oi Moderator these guys are right "the desire to acquire wealth has been understood as indispensable for economic prosperity" is nonsense 86.111.169.120 21:56, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Try not to remove the add-on of "staple of the American people" bit. It's wholly accurate. Sweetandy 20:23, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

The third paragraph of this article is not really English. It sounds like it was run through an automatic translator program. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.57.58.253 (talk) 16:10, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

skull + money photo

i've taken out this ridiculous photo ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:US_cash_and_skull.jpg ). if anyone can provide a reasonable rationale why it belongs on a page about greed i'd be happy to see it back. Dyukanon 03:51, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

It highlights the lengths that one would go to in order to acquire money, therefore showing greed through possessional desire, in this case, money, specifically USD. Although it may seem a bit over the top and dramatic, it still encapsulates the popular perspective of greed, to work and live for money and wealth. 18:30, 1 February 2007 (EDT)

Avarice vs Greed

Seems odd that avarice should redirect to greed, when the article for greed does not even mention the word avarice. I might be mistaken, but I thought avarice, not greed, was the "deadly sin". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.10.108.49 (talk) 21:32, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

They are the same thing. His royal majesty, Lord Holy Ono (talk) 23:49, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Is that a fact? I may be in the wrong, but I believe greed usually refers to an excessive desire to have more, while avarice rather means (I think) being a miser, i.e. excessively unwilling to spend or share one's wealth. Though the meanings are related, they are not the same. For instance, somebody who is rich, not getting richer but spending just enough to survive is guilty of avarice rather than greed...

The article currently emphasizes the unnecessary acquisition of wealth rather than the unnecessary hoarding of wealth. But it is interesting to note that the list of capital sins in various European languages usually contain a word implying (my possibly misguided definition of) avarice rather than greed. Ratfox (talk) 03:09, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

"Avarice" is the French word for "greed" (check in a dictionary if you don't believe me). Both words describe rigorously the same thing. "Avarice" came to English through Old French from the Lation "avaritia" itself deriving from the adjective "avarus" which means "greedy" ("avare" in French).

Do take note that although in English "avarice" and "greed" mean the same thing, there's a slight difference with the word "cupidity". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.57.12.119 (talk) 18:07, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

A perception that these current synonyms are different, and how they differ (avarice being extreme greed), likely relate to their usage. Avarice has been in decline over the past two hundred years (according to what Google assembles and relate to the word). For greed, its use is the reverse. The decline in the usage of avarice and the rise in the use of greed both correlate quite strongly to the rise of progressivism, and then progressive secularism. This suggests some underlying social condition, likely the rise of limited liability law enabled markets and laissez faire CapitalismFail. The last bump in the use of greed correlates to the "greed-is-good" mantra that justified junk bonds.

Avarice, derived from Latin, is the term for the name of one of the seven deadly sins. The Greek term philarguros, which means 'love of money" translates to 'avarus' also 'avaritie'. That the current use of the term 'avarice' is defined as extreme greed, in this historical context, appears justified. I got here as part work I'm doing for a 'CapitalismFail' page. A differentiation between personal greed and systemic avarice, as we tip into the economic meme's Anthropocene needs to remain a linguistic possibility. OpenToInfo (talk) 17:09, 21 January 2016 (UTC)

Capitalism

I think this article needs a section about greed and capitalism, like including the arguments of the right side and maybe some references to Gordon Gecko. I'm just to lazy to write it myself. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.213.98.86 (talk) 20:48, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

The capitalism viewpoint was already given when I arrived. I added a reference to GeKKo and the movie. Ratfox (talk) 03:31, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Greed

What is greed? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.186.12.222 (talk) 08:32, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

Theology is too restricted a view on Greed

I added a paragraph that intended to add an unbiased view on greed based on psychology and economics, but it was deleted. Please don't make theology the only reference for this complex concept. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by One analyst (talk • contribs) 16:55, 19 April 2009 (UTC) 75.176.122.188 (talk) 19:58, 14 October 2009 (UTC)greed comes from selfcentered minds ~SOUP

Theology deals with morals and ethics, so not really. The word means what it means regardless of theological study, and it is not complex. Greed for anything for which one has ill intent is generally regarded wrong by every civilization on earth. And it is the INTENT that defines it. Greedy for knowledge, for example, is a good intent. The word needs a qualifier to have a real meaning, but in and of it self has always implied the ill intent. It is from the Latin concept, lucre, or filthy desire, to lust for base things, rather than good things. It is often misused by relativists, and especially socialists, to attack the wealthy. But no one's knows one's intent, and a wealthy man may be seeking greater wealth to achieve something great. Who are you to know? Jcchat66 (talk) 06:29, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

What's the source for that "psychological definition"? I think it describes rather pride than greed. I'm not a native English speaker, but my understanding is based on the concept of greed (and pride) as one of the 7 deadly sins, which in my wiev is very solid cultural base for a relevant definition (and a great piece of psychology too). I'm actually astonished that the article doesn't mention the fact of greed being one of the 7 deadly sins, in fact even the main one in view of some late-medieval theologians - that's according to Huizinga (in Autumn of The Middle Ages he says something like that with the prevalence of money as a paying tool the focus shifted from pride to greed as the main sin), although the prevailing view probably reserves this status for pride (actually, I realised the connection between the two only after seeing this - in my view misguided - "psychological definition" of greed). I don't really feel competent to incorporate this issues into the entry, but it really cries for it! And just to hint to one of the topics below, the corporate greed does belong here too, there's enough literature on it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.225.35.181 (talk) 06:58, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

An entry for Corporate Greed

I am rather surprised in this day and age that you do not have an entry for Corporate Greed, especially since this is what has caused the recent world recession. What is interesting is that it is undermining not only democracy and the capitalist ethos but also has massive implications environmentally now. Corporate greed may have indirectly undermined the Copenhagen talks on the Earth's atmosphere. Corporate greed is responsible for the way that may people's job security has been undermined in almost every institution so that the corporation maximises profits for shareholders and CEOs -- so called cutting of costs by slashing jobs. We need a definition of corporate greed now! Cheers~sber —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.121.95.240 (talk) 03:20, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

You're stating your opinion as fact, please do not do that. Corporate Greed is subjective, and is not even defined well. What do you mean? The Marxist view that assumes the intentions of a wealthy industrilist who needs as much money as possible to build something even greater? Corporate property rights may undermine democracy, for which is there is historical evidence to support. Corporations need not own property to be beneficial to society. Corporations is just another institution of society, like government, churches, synagogues, guilds, unions, etc. No institution has a value by itself, it's the actions of those that operate it, and their intentions, that cause moral concern. Jcchat66 (talk) 06:32, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

When people refer to corporate greed they often really mean corporate narcissism.--Penbat (talk) 11:13, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

Removed "class=disambig"

I don't believe this article is a disambiguation-class article (anymore?). If there's something I'm missing, please roll my change back and explain it to me. —Merc64 (talk) 22:33, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

I wonder if greed is condition for the human race to exist. Is all civilizations had greed as the the main spring board for their conquests? What would be the "measurement" for wanting? If greed was the responsible for our progresses, it can also be our demise. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.149.168.38 (talk) 07:29, 3 October 2011 (UTC)

Why is narcissism under "see also"?

Narcissism relates to pride, not greed.--24.62.109.225 (talk) 21:04, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

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