Greetings, friends!
Each of us strives to improve living conditions for ourselves and our families. And today, a motivated person has much more opportunities for self-realization than ever before. Therefore, there is nothing reprehensible in striving for prosperity and wealth, earning good money and buying expensive things. However, it is important to ensure that this desire does not develop into greed - a trait that has always caused hostility and condemnation from others. Today we will look in detail at what greed is and what consequences it can lead to. Let's not waste time, let's get started.
What is greed?
In simple terms, greed is an excessive desire for wealth. In the explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, Ushakova is deciphered as a passionate desire for acquisition. A greedy person is insatiable in terms of accumulating wealth and material goods. Greed is a sin; it ranks third in the list of human vices under the name “love of money.”
In terms of feelings
Under the influence of a feeling of greed, he experiences an uncontrollable sensation of thirst for material gain, in which, if it is received, there is no satisfaction. On the contrary, greed only intensifies. In other words, it is a pathological condition that negatively affects the personality.
Greed as a character trait
In other words, greed, commercialism, and hoarding are a specific character trait that manifests itself in a pathological tendency to accumulate money and valuables, as well as in the fear of losing them. Initially, a small proportion of it is inherent in every person, but only in some the defect acquires hypertrophic forms and destroys the inner world of its owner. Selfishness is closely interconnected with other unpleasant character traits - envy and anger.
What is bad about vice?
It is not for nothing that it is considered a sin, and a mortal one at that. This is undoubtedly a negative quality that leads to personal degradation. Without material wealth, a person can no longer feel happy. The main problem is the inability to control the situation and stop in time. In addition, such people develop complex relationships with others, including family members.
What does greed and commercialism lead to?
The significance of greed is very great in the life of its owner in the most negative sense. At an extreme degree of vice, bordering on insanity, the thirst for accumulation leads to the fact that a person begins to limit himself in everything (new clothes, delicious food, and so on) and count every penny. Gradually, interest in life is lost, all that remains is the desire to earn income. People like Koschey sit and languish over their gold.
Difference between greed and stinginess
It cannot be said that these words are synonyms; these concepts should not be combined. The differences are that with the first, a person not only does not like to share his wealth, but will not do anything without material gain. Selflessness (the antonym of greed) is not about him. Greedy people are calculating and selfish.
It should also not be confused with frugality. The latter can mean a sensible approach to spending. Rational savings include some restrictions on purchases for financial investments, for example, paying off a loan or raising funds for a major purchase.
Symptoms of acquisitiveness
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There is perhaps no more painful vice than greed. Synonyms for this word - “acquisitiveness”, “gluttony” and “greed”, completely complement the current picture. Sometimes the pettiness of such people reaches the extreme. A greedy person always carefully calculates the cost of even the most insignificant purchase. He will not leave the cash register without counting all the change. And if there is not enough money there, he will create a scandal and take it away at any cost.
Greedy people talk about money all the time. They complain about their shortage. They envy and spoil those who earn more than them. Moreover, such a person may well occupy a good position and be wealthy. Greedy people buy the cheapest clothes, food, they never spend on entertainment. Even if they have a hobby, it is always associated with the idea of saving money. For example, a person prone to money-grubbing can buy a dacha, so he can provide himself with food and not spend money, or he sews clothes, although at the same time altering old trousers and sweaters.
Greedy people will not miss the opportunity to get money illegally; they always take bribes and do not disdain blackmail and theft. Such a person will constantly demand to borrow money from his relatives, but he will not give it back. This constantly provokes scandals. At the same time, he can steal from a relative or friend who lives worse than himself. Acquisitiveness can be taken to extremes. Greedy people will not disdain to search garbage barrels, they hope to find there something that will allow them to save money, for example, old furniture, clothes or metal that can be sold for money.
Causes of the defect
Education and complexes
It often happens that commercialism is the result of a person’s upbringing by parents. This happens because in the family children are taught to strive only for material wealth, to put them above all values. Accumulation becomes the meaning of life. As a rule, it is accompanied by a desire for power with all the ensuing consequences, including bribery.
Another reason for selfishness can be poverty; lack of money in the family contributes to the development of complexes in the child. Having become an adult, in pursuit of wealth, he seeks to compensate for childhood grievances. However, in this race he loses control over his own actions and creates fertile ground for the development of all pathological types of greed.
Another reason for the formation of the vice is children’s complexes due to psychological trauma, dissatisfaction with their own appearance, physical disabilities, and lack of recognition by peers. In later life, a person tries to cover up his “inferiority” with money.
Furious competition in society
From childhood, parents teach their child to be a leader, strive to get good grades at school, be better than peers in some area, and so on. This leads to the fact that from childhood he perceives others as competitors. The stereotype is carried into adulthood, and the race for material wealth begins. For some this happens within reason, but for others it ends in extreme commercialism.
Promotion for money
A pathological passion for wealth is sometimes associated with encouraging a child with money from parents and grandparents. For example, money was given as compensation for lack of proper attention or for good grades at school, or help around the house. As a result of these actions, spiritual values were replaced by material ones. Therefore, all parents must be aware of their actions so that in the future their children will not suffer from greed and pride.
Bottom line
Greed is considered a sinful feeling that spoils not only a person, but also his relationships with other people. The result of greed is the presence of all those problems that a person tried to solve through material wealth. Unhappiness, dissatisfaction, loneliness and emptiness live in a person’s heart all his life, since he is not even able to spend all the accumulated benefits on himself.
The prediction of greed is loneliness, since the people around the person who he uses suffer. How to understand that you are being used? This can only be felt or revealed through introspection. Exploitation occurs only when you do something that you don't want to do, but the other person demands it from you.
A peculiar way of use is the situation when a person deliberately uses you to achieve his goals, and at the same time you are happy to help him. But here we can say that you are not being used: you yourself agree to help the person achieve his goals. Accordingly, this is your desire or help, not use.
You should be observant so that you don’t reproach yourself later for allowing someone to take advantage of you. Unfortunately, most people use each other, and only a few individuals feel uncomfortable when they realize that their actions are similar to the selfish use of the strengths and feelings of another person. But the worst thing is not that they want to use you, but that you allow yourself to be used. This is dangerous for you because you begin to realize your guilt in this situation. If a person allows himself to be used, then it is he himself who is to blame, and not the one who uses him. In order not to reproach yourself for your own stupidity, be observant so as not to become a victim of a greedy person.
Characteristics of a greedy person
What qualities does such a person have?
The famous psychoanalyst from the Netherlands, Manfred Kets de Vries, explained in detail what greed means, based on specific character traits. So, you can identify a pathologically greedy person by the following signs:
- egocentrism - complete focus only on oneself, alienation in relation to the feelings of other people;
- envy - the desire to have other people's material wealth and privileges;
- indifference - lack of empathy for others and care for them;
- dissatisfaction - a constant feeling that something is missing for complete happiness;
- manipulation - a greedy person masterfully manipulates other people, asserts himself at their expense;
- impatience - self-interested people are not focused on long-term results, they want to get everything here and now;
- lack of principles - ideas about morality are completely absent; in order to achieve the goal, all stereotypes can be broken.
How and in what ways does it manifest itself?
What does a “greedy person” mean, what is he like? This is a person devoid of spiritual principles. Often such people are characterized by isolation, envy, anger, and an exorbitant desire to accumulate money for future use and gain benefits. A special place among the shortcomings is occupied by the fear of losing what has been accumulated, which leads to constant stress. Worship of wealth becomes the meaning of life, crowding out other human joys and values. Greed, commercialism and envy poison the life of their owner in all areas of life:
- Job . Any professional activity involves contact with people. It is difficult to maintain normal relationships within the framework of competition with a greedy person. Therefore, such people are often ignored by their colleagues.
- Home, family . As the deficiency develops, relationships with family deteriorate. It often comes to the point that a person remains lonely.
- Self-development . Greed eradicates all good qualities and provides fertile ground for the formation of other vices. Self-development is replaced by personality degradation, impoverishment of spirituality .
- Psychological and physical health. The constant desire to accumulate, save, and multiply depletes the nervous system and leads to the development of psycho-neurological and somatic diseases.
Why does vice negatively affect a person?
Like any other vice, greed corrupts a person. In simple words, this is the path of spiritual degradation of the individual. The boundaries between someone else's and one's own are gradually blurred, which can lead to the commission of a crime. In the absence of the opportunity to get what they want, a person is filled with anger, envy, and loses the ability to compassion. If he manages to reach heights, there comes a moment when a panicky fear of losing what he has accumulated appears. Manic dependence on material goods leads to the loss of self.
More about greed
This is a personal trait that simultaneously contains both the desire to receive more new benefits and the reluctance to share accumulated wealth. In a figurative sense, greed can mean passion, an unbearable desire, for example, as in the expressions “greed for life”, “greedily absorb.”
However, greed is not only a character trait, but also a feeling. That is, an emotional component that is objective in nature. As a rule, all people experience a similar feeling, some less often, some more often. But not everyone can admit this.
Like other emotions, the feeling of greed is difficult to describe, but it is important to note that it is often accompanied by emotional distress. It is also accompanied by a number of vegetative manifestations, such as strong heartbeat, increased breathing, muscle tension, and increased blood pressure.
When such a feeling is repeated frequently, a person's health may suffer.
Examples in life
- One of the striking modern manifestations of greed is shopaholism, when a person is psychologically dependent on consumption.
- Probably everyone at work has a colleague who is ready to work tirelessly for a higher salary, day and night, to the detriment of his family and his own health. Unless, of course, this is a necessary measure.
- Excessive greed is sometimes found in everyday life. For example, one guest at the table tries to take a bite and put as much of everything on his plate as possible, and then also ask for a cake to take home. Or the opposite situation, when you came to visit and brought treats with you, and the owners hid them and put them on the table that were cheaper, simpler, and not freshly prepared.
- An example of greed in a family when, with great wealth, children walk around “naked” and “barefoot”, because the greedy dad puts money in a safe and trembles over every penny.
There are many examples of the embodiment of selfishness in different life situations. Sometimes they have the most tragic consequences.
How to get rid of greed
It is necessary to get rid of pathological greed, otherwise it will poison the life of both its owner and the people around him.
There is a way to overcome the passion for material values, for this you need:
- Recognize there is a problem. Self-criticism is a great achievement on the path to healing.
- Fill the inner emptiness. In order to minimize thoughts about money, you need to find hobbies (hobbies, sports, travel).
- Learn to give. Helping family and strangers will fill the inner emptiness. If your wealth allows, you can try to do charity work. The type of help is not important, the main thing is that it brings positive emotions to people.
Help in getting rid of vice
Before you start working on yourself, you need to identify the cause. To do this you will have to visit a psychotherapist. A specialist will help you get to the origins of the vice and reassess the events that led to serious consequences. Unlike struggling on your own, working with a specialist goes much faster. However, it is worth considering how long the patient has been under the influence of greed and how impaired his mental health is.
Examples in the literature
In foreign literature
In the works of foreign authors, the topic of greed was raised quite often. Of the many stingy characters, it is worth highlighting the peasant Euclion from Plautus’s comedy “Treasure” (in some collections it is called “Kubishka”). The hero found a treasure and throughout the entire work he was worried that someone would find out about it and steal it. As a result, the old man constantly hid it, suspected everyone around him, and could not think about anything but gold. He found peace only when he got rid of the find.
The personification of greed is also present in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Moliere's The Miser, Balzac's Gobseck and other famous works.
The theme of greed in Russian literature
In Russian literature, a striking example of a greedy person is the character in Pushkin’s play “The Miserly Knight.” The baron is very rich, has six chests full of gold, but he does not take a penny from them. The passion for hoarding has consumed him, and he is ready to take the life of anyone who dares to encroach on his wealth, even his own son. The author raises the topic of the harmful effects of vice on a once worthy person. Obsession leads him first to spiritual and then to physical death.
Among the miser characters were also Ganya Ivolgin from Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot”, Kabanikha from Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”, Plyushkin from Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” and others.
In modern Russian prose, the topic of commercialism is raised in Tarmashev’s series of books “The Area of the Price of Greed.”
