Can ethics overcome greed in the 21st century?

No

4 of 5

by Irina Diaconescu

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I do not think we can overcome greed anymore. Not in this century. Greed is such an enormous and powerful entity, that it is a tough demon to fight. The chances of winning a battle against greed are slim. Greed has infiltrated itself so deeply and subtly into our subconscious, that it has become a very part of us. In moments of lucidity, we become aware of our greed, just like we become aware of other traits we possess, such as anger or patience.
We have not only come to accept greed as a part of who we are, but we have come to embrace it.

I believe greed originated from our instinct to survive. However, since we don't live in caves or hunt our food anymore, survival has evolved, along with the rest of our psyche. And the result is greed. We are no longer content with having a roof over our head and food on the table. We need to have a variety of foods on the table and the table needs to be some designer brand, made of expensive cherry wood with a mahogany finish. We are no longer happy with having the necessary things for survival: food, shelter, clothing. We want more, and by god, we will have it. At any expense. Even if we have to sacrifice our ethics for it.

Greed exists in every single one of us, but especially here in the United States. We've created this society where it's cool to have more stuff, it's everyone's goal to strike it rich, by buying stocks, gambling, inventing something. Necessities are simply not enough anymore. And I believe that's because we celebrate greed in this country, we award it. We look up to those who have built empires. We are in awe, as well as envy those who have vast fortunes, who live the high life, even those who are famous simply for having inherited riches. We call these people entrepreneurs. But all they are is greedy. And we love greed.

Just like greed, ethics exist in all of us. Well, most of us anyway. We know the difference between right and wrong and we mostly try to do the right thing in life and by others. But greed is more powerful. Because while having strong ethics is honorable, having more stuff creates more comfort and ensures better quality of life. And in today's world, quality of life is measured in stuff, and not good deeds or how many times one has done the right thing and applied ethics.

We want it all: the big house, the nice cars, the boat, the diamonds, the designer clothes. It's never enough. The more we have, the more we want. We live to the limit. The more we earn, the more we spend, so that we can accumulate more, more, more. All aspects of our lives are affected by greed in one way or another. And ethics are quickly losing ground. Just look at the economy. Millions of people have to suffer because a group of individuals were so greedy that they silenced their ethics and sold millions of homes to people who couldn't afford them. The lenders were greedy so they altered the truth about the actual effects of the loans, and the buyers were greedy thinking they were going to make a lot of money from rising equity in their newly purchased real estate. Unfortunately, both sides lost. And now we all have to pay for other people's greed.

While most of us acknowledge greed and work on managing it, just like any other personality trait, some use greed as their best asset and use it to acquire whatever it is they are looking to obtain. Because greed brings riches; riches bring power, power brings authority, and authority opens the doors to more greed. A vicious cycle with more than willing participants.

It's not money that rules everything around us. It's the greed for the money. People will sacrifice families, friends and ethics because of greed. It's what the very fiber of our society is made of in the 21st
century. Ethics is a practice of the past and it's every man for himself in
today's day and age. It's too late to ask if ethics can overcome greed. It looks like greed has already won the battle.

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