Political Crossfire Forums

[Roy L]

jawsome wrote: social wrote: Kenya on a steady path to becoming wealhty? :think:

In the late 60's and 70's they were definitely (relatively speaking and compared to other countries in the region). They had a semi-benevolent dictator, Jomo Mzee _____ (I forget his last name) Kenyatta, IIRC. And IMO calling him semi-benevolent is a bit optimistic. Quote: who steadily opened their markets and provided infrastructure, which lead to investment and some development.

[fourtysixandtwo]

To get back on subject i think you guys may have misused the word greed to begin with, here are a few sources on thier definitions of greed...

http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/g/g0253900.html
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greed Listen: [ gr d ]
n.

An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth: "Many . . . attach to competition the stigma of selfish greed" (Henry Fawcett).

http://www.infoplease.com/ipd/A0463250.html
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greed

Pronunciation: (grēd), [key]
—n.
excessive or rapacious desire, esp. for wealth or possessions.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=greed
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greed
n 1: excessive desire to acquire or possess more (especially more material wealth) than one needs or deserves 2: reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins) [syn: avarice, covetousness, rapacity, avaritia]

Considering this one can see that someone selling goods is not from a motive of GREED, but rather a need for basic survival. Even so we wish to have nice things, does this make us greedy? Of course not, the question becomes how do you come about doing this? If one were to STEAL the money then yes, they could be considered greedy.

Now if one were to work for this money then no, they would not be greedy considering they have not commited an act that we consider to be "excessive," or extreme. I once watched John's Stossels "Greed" its a pretty nice program, but please, dont just take things that people say. Rather think about them first and contemplate their statement to the point of all angles.

One could classify greed as an exchange that benefits themselves and HARMS another.

[Roy L]

fourtysixandtwo wrote: To get back on subject i think you guys may have misused the word greed to begin with, here are a few sources on thier definitions of greed...

http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/g/g0253900.html
--
greed n. An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth
Right. Excessive desire for more than one needs or deserves.
Quote:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=greed
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greed
n 1: excessive desire to acquire or possess more (especially more material wealth) than one needs or deserves
Again, more than one needs or deserves. I provided an equivalent definition a few pages back, but others pretty much ignored it. The "excessive" qualifier can refer both to the intensity of the desire and to the amount more than one needs or deserves that one desires.

[Cato]

Quote: Every single person I met and talked with in Kenya blames their government for the country's poverty now because they were on a steady path to becoming wealthy (they are the wealthiest sub-Saharan country, I believe, maybe Ghana is), and corrupt governments have robbed them dry.

Why should I care about the opinions of random people? How many of them have studied global economics?

As for the bolded part, do you really know what you're talking about?

[DCKara]

I think that greed is an inherent human characteristic. We are born "greedy" because it is part of our basic instincts for survival. If you observe babies or even toddlers they are all very selfish and don't want to share with the other children and will even fight for what they want with no remorse (they also see nothing wrong with this behavior). It is not until we have told them, over and over again that greed is "bad" and there will be consequences for their actions, that they are understanding as to why they should share.
So, in my theory, there is nothing wrong with greed. It is natural to have feelings of greed. We have simply had society drill into our heads over our lifetimes that greed is "bad" because it is probably best for society as a whole at this point that not everyone is greedy. However, what's good for the gander isn't always good for the goose. Being greedy is probably in the best interest of every individual. In my world, greed is good and selfishness is a virtue.

[fourtysixandtwo]

DCKara wrote: I think that greed is an inherent human characteristic. We are born "greedy" because it is part of our basic instincts for survival. If you observe babies or even toddlers they are all very selfish and don't want to share with the other children and will even fight for what they want with no remorse (they also see nothing wrong with this behavior). It is not until we have told them, over and over again that greed is "bad" and there will be consequences for their actions, that they are understanding as to why they should share.
So, in my theory, there is nothing wrong with greed. It is natural to have feelings of greed. We have simply had society drill into our heads over our lifetimes that greed is "bad" because it is probably best for society as a whole at this point that not everyone is greedy. However, what's good for the gander isn't always good for the goose. Being greedy is probably in the best interest of every individual. In my world, greed is good and selfishness is a virtue.

Great, one could classify murder as a natural feeling too...

Just because something is "natural" doesn't make it a good, or right thing.