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Greed is selfish, excessive or
uncontrolled desire for or pursuit of money, wealth, food, or other
possessions, especially when this denies the same goods to
others.
It is generally considered a vice, and is one of the seven deadly sins
in Catholicism. (People who do not view unconstrained
acquisitiveness as a vice will generally use a word other than
greed, which has strong negative connotations.)
Some desire to increase one's wealth is nearly universal and
acceptable in any culture, but this simple want is not considered
greed. Greed is the extreme form of this desire, especially where
one desires things simply for the sake of owning them. Greed may
entail acquiring material possessions at the expense of another
person's welfare (for example, a father buying himself a new car
rather than fix the roof of his family's home) or otherwise reflect
flawed priorities.
Coveting another person's goods is usually called envy, a word
commonly confused with jealousy. The two words denote opposite
forms of greed. We may envy and wish to have the possessions or
qualities of another, but we jealously guard the possessions or
qualities we believe we have and refuse to share these with others.
Greed for food or drink, combined with excessive indulgence in
them, is called gluttony. Excessive greed for and indulgence in sex
is called lust, although this term no longer carries as negative
connotations as it once did.
Greed is sometimes represented by the frog.
A woodcut by Ugo da Carpi, is entitled "Hercules Chasing Avarice
from the Temple of the Muses." [1]. Thomas Aquinas metaphorically
described the sin of Avarice as "Mammon being carried up from Hell
by a wolf, coming to inflame the human heart with Greed".
Proponents of laissez-faire capitalism sometimes argue that greed
should not be considered a negative trait and should instead be
embraced, as they claim that greed is a profoundly benevolent force
in human affairs, as well as a necessary foundation for the
capitalist system. Critics have argued this definition confuses
greed with self-interest, which can be benign.
[edit] Greed vs. Happiness
Buddhists believe greed is based on incorrectly connecting material
wealth with happiness. This is caused by a view that exaggerates
the positive aspects of an object; that is, acquiring material
objects has less impact than we imagine on our feelings of
happiness. This view has been correlated by studies in the field of
happiness economics, which confirm that beyond the provision of a
basic level of material comfort, more wealth does not create
greater happiness.
