by From Ken Zimmerman Greed is a personality disorder. While it is sometimes correct that without greed humans would still be living in caves, it is also correct that left unchecked, the insatiable desire for more and better material things can be destructive. These are the warning signs of uncontrolled greed. The first sign of the greed syndrome is overly self-centered behavior. Greedy people are always saying “me, me, me” with very little regard for the needs and feelings of others. Envy and greed are like twins. While greed is a strong desire for more and more possessions (such as wealth and power), envy goes one step further as a strong desire by greedy people for the possessions of others. Greedy people lack empathy. Caring—being concerned about the feelings of others—is not part of
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from Ken Zimmerman
Greed is a personality disorder. While it is sometimes correct that without greed humans would still be living in caves, it is also correct that left unchecked, the insatiable desire for more and better material things can be destructive. These are the warning signs of uncontrolled greed.
The first sign of the greed syndrome is overly self-centered behavior. Greedy people are always saying “me, me, me” with very little regard for the needs and feelings of others. Envy and greed are like twins. While greed is a strong desire for more and more possessions (such as wealth and power), envy goes one step further as a strong desire by greedy people for the possessions of others.
Greedy people lack empathy. Caring—being concerned about the feelings of others—is not part of their way of life. As such, they have little qualms about causing pain to others. Their inability to empathize, their lack of genuine interest in the ideas and feelings of others, and their unwillingness to take personal responsibility for their behavior and actions makes interaction with them very difficult.
Greedy people are never satisfied. They look at the world as a zero-sum game. Instead of thinking that everyone would benefit as the pie gets larger, they view the pie as a constant and want the largest piece. They truly believe that they deserve more, even if it comes at someone else’s expense.
Greedy people are experts in manipulation. They are skilled in taking credit for work done by others. When the occasion requires, they can be charming, but their main scheme is to have people around them who feed their ego.
Greedy people are always in the short run; they are focused on gratifying their immediate needs and leave it to others to cope with the consequences. To illustrate, as leaders of corporations, they are more interested in getting their bonuses, instead of making investments for future innovation, or to share whatever benefits accrued with their employees.
In the pursuit of their material needs, they know no limits. Greedy people are not good at maintaining boundaries. They will compromise moral values and ethics to achieve their goals. They look for loopholes or clever ways to outsmart the rules and regulations that have been put into place to moderate this kind of behavior.
A society where such actions and beliefs are common is sociopathic. Americans might not recognize the term “sociopathic society,” but today they are staring it in the face. After every mass shooting, every cut in vital services, every sabotage of democracy, people were afraid, rightly, for their children and themselves. Our current crisis involves far more than military-style gun massacres and an armed, angry population. It reflects an economy, politics, and culture that are a fertile foundation for a sociopathic society. It’s my view that the United States, with a long history of sociopathic institutions and practices, is now evolving toward a full-blown sociopathic society.