Greed is NOT good

Wherever you care to look in the world you will see examples of greed. Sometimes they are hailed as symptoms of 'capitalism' by those politically so inclined, conveniently forgetting that greed is in, fact, a trait common to most humans irrespective of political sympathies.

What is certain is that greed is bad for us in more ways than one, even if by following it we can end up making a lot of money, as it usually brings out the worst in human behaviour; it can also seriously affect our health if we allow it to guide our eating and drinking habits. The revolting slide of western nations into a cycle of obesity and eating-related disease has its roots in greed, partially it is claimed triggered by the shortages of food during and after WW2 and the feelings it created among the population.

Examples of greedy behaviour are commonplace in the corporate world, of course, and we have recently seen examples of service firms (such as the big accountancy and/or consulting firms) charging and being paid massive fees by companies that subsequently are proven to be incapable of surviving. It would matter less if, in doing their jobs, they had highlighted the problems; rather, they keep quiet, then one of their lot earn another lot of fees as receivers or liquidators. The recently bankrupt firm Carillion is an example of this, with accountancy firms accused in today's media of 'feasting' as it slowly died. These firms should be investigated properly and be fined severely if found liable, if only to discourage future transgressions.

Greed is not limited to money or food, though they may be the most obvious showings of it. Power is another interesting field where greed appears all consuming, especially in less than democratic environments. This has been made obvious through the ages by despots (or 'dish-pots', according to the wonderful writings of P.G. Wodehouse, surely one of the supreme masters of  the English language and its use) the world over; as the old saying goes 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'.

There is one area where greed is not only acceptable but actually good, and that is knowledge; for most of us the more knowledge acquired the better it is, the better our life will be, as well as the lives of those depending on us. The thirst for knowledge, admittedly rarer than it should be,  is something extremely important to my life, as those close to me know. I have often told them, in fact, that the day I stop learning is the day I want to die, so I hope to keep on learning for some time to come!

P.S. :  The flower (three separate ones, actually) is nothing to do with the subject, other than that it is beautiful and, therefore, helps satisfy my greed for beauty in life. It has thrived due to the TLC shown to it by my green-fingered host and flatmate!