September 29, 2005 -Can Greed Be Good?
Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. ~Norman MacEwan
Abundant Sufficiency
By: Ian Lawton
"Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works.
Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind." Gordon Gecko in the 1980s movie “Wall Street,” played by Michael Douglas.
Basically Gecko’s argument is that greed is good because it is natural and those who desire are simply tapping into the evolutionary spirit. This is not to be confused with a newer movement called “Natural Capitalism.”
“Natural Capitalism” suggests that businesses need to stop acting as if this is still the age of industrialization when resources seemed to be limitless. If businesses don’t adapt their practices to acknowledge the scarcity of nature’s resources, then businesses will be both cutting of their noses and spiting their shareholders.
Human decimation of natural resources seems to have proven Gordon Gecko wrong. The greed of people in the 1980s has stunted the upward surge in human progress by placing more wealth in the hands of the type of people who don’t care about ethics and ecology.
So is greed good in any sense? Is the greed of “good” or ideal objects, such as love or knowledge a constructive desire? Can any kind of striving ever bring us happiness? Can greed be good if one person’s wealth trickles down to benefit others? What if the trickle leads to a solid flow, or even a stream of common wealth? Is it wrong to be greedy for social status?
Isn’t it healthy to be greedy for greater spiritual insight, or more satisfying relationships or more ethical standards? Is the time ripe for a new form of capitalism with heart, something like Howard Bloom’s Messianic Capitalism, also known as enlightened capitalism?
Most religious and spiritual traditions have been down on greed, defined as self gain. Starting with the whole “thou shalt not covet” Hebrew tradition, Jesus then went so far as to say that there is no profit in seeking the whole world if a person loses their soul. In fact the result will be just loss. Jesus may well have been a natural capitalism prophet well ahead of his time. Jesus was pointing to a truth in many traditions that any attempt to disconnect outcomes from inner consciousness and social ethics will fail. Enron and others illustrated this point. Maybe he was also pointing to the dangers of attaching to wealth. The high rate of suicide for men after failed business opportunities illustrates this tragic point.
Buddhism expresses this as the illusion of permanence in ownership. It leads only to suffering and craving. Buddhism describes the "Three Poisons" as greed, hatred, and delusion. Some socially engaged Buddhists have linked all three traits to the structural violence that Western development has brought to Asian rural communities. Sulak Sivaraska, for example, suggests that the three poisons have been institutionalized in western democracy. The stated aim of development and capitalism is usually to allow the invisible hand of self interest to have a free hand and then everyone benefits.
But does everyone benefit in free market capitalism, or is it just a way for the rich to get richer? Is it too easy for wealth to remain in the hands of a few who satisfy their own conscience by trickling down some token handouts?
Sociologists have long pondered this question. Max Weber argued that from the Puritan era on, the pursuit of profit no longer had anything to do with the individual’s greed for gain. Weber believed this had been replaced by a corporate greed that enslaved the worker in its web of dependence. Weber looked far more at structural causes for greed and inequality than personal causes.
Karl Marx saw it differently than Weber. He believed that capitalism distorted human desires. Greed became unfettered and pathological under capitalism, in his view, and money had the power to nullify various other disadvantages. Money, he said, would inevitably corrupt the human spirit.
Marx wrote. “I am ugly, but I can buy myself the most beautiful women.
Consequently, I am not ugly, for the effect of ugliness, its power of repulsion, is annulled by money.”
We could even go back further than Weber and Marx, and find old parables that teach lessons about greed. King Midas was cursed by getting his wish granted that everything he touched would turn to gold. People who get hooked on greed tend to turn themselves into stone or ice. They can become so cold, so closed to other people, to the good of the whole, that they transform themselves into objects.
Clearly, a perspective on greed depends on definition. Let’s assume for argument’s sake the most positive definition. Let’s assume that greed is a desire for a balanced distribution of all good things between all people and groups. Then the key words become balance and desire. We balance a gratitude for what we have already with our desire for more good things.
There are some inspiring examples of people seeking this sort of balance.
Take for example Tex Gunning, the President of Unilever Bestfoods Asia.
Unilever is placing the nutritional needs of children in Asia right at the heart of its business mission. Unilever is making compassionate activism part of its core business. As Tex says, “We as individuals should entirely integrate our personal lives and our search for meaning with our business lives.”
Or we might find some inspiration in that other worldly Asian kingdom of Bhutan where they declared GNH (Gross National Happiness) as more important that GNP (Gross National Product). Bhutan has built its nation on the four pillars of economic development, environmental preservation, cultural promotion and good governance. Maybe this is Utopian in large countries, or else maybe it offers some balance to the “develop at any cost” mentality of the west.
Finally, what about Bernard Lietaer? He designed the single European currency system. Now he is a prophet for community and a local exchange of time and talent as well as money. He suggests that within 30 years as few as 3% of the world’s population will be able to produce everything that the planet needs to survive. What will the rest of us do for a living? He champions the view that community is primary over profitability and employment.
He said, “The biggest issues that I believe humanity faces today are sustainability and the inequalities and breakdown in community, which create tensions that result in violence and wars. We can address both these issues with the same tool, by consciously creating currency systems that will enhance community and sustainability.”
Lietaer picks up the Jungian notion of shadows when he suggests that the opposite of greed is a fear of scarcity. If we feel like we are surrounded only by scarcity, then we run the risk of becoming greedy. Scarcity becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I wonder if this is part of the psychology of looters after a storm.
According to this view, we need to sharpen our vision of abundance. However it’s not a reckless abundance. That’s also known as mindless consumerism.
Our vision needs to include an abundance of sufficiency, balancing our needs rather than feeding our greed.
There are so many approaches to happiness, desire and wealth. Which ones make the most sense in our contexts? Which ones enhance our experience of life’s abundance? Which ones further the evolutionary journey of the whole planet, living and non living, visible and invisible alike? These are ongoing community issues.
This Sunday we welcome Steve Frazee to our community for the weekend. Steve is a business person who recently sold a successful business. He is a model for integral living in the mould of Tex Gunning and Bernard Lietaer, a person of spirit and humanity. He is now planning what direction his life will take, as he seeks the very balance of abundance I am describing. At our Unleashed gathering this Sunday, we will have the chance to dialogue with Steve about issues such as greed, success and balance. It shapes up as an important discussion. Plan to be there, or if that’s not possible, watch the web site for updates of the conversation.
Unleashed Gathering for this Sunday.
Unleashed is our Sunday evening gathering. It runs from 6:30-7:30 simultaneously with Kids Unleashed. Unleashed seeks to unite progressive ideas with transformative practice by using dialogue, music, meditation, and audio/visual elements.
Don't miss this week's Unleashed gathering as we welcome a dialogue with Steve Frazee, watch a clip of Wall Street, and come together for some guided meditation. You won't want to miss this great community time.
Can Big Business Save the World?
Check out this fascinating issue of "What is Enlightenment?"
In this issue WIE explores the question "can big business save the world?"
Check out this issue in our library, or purchase the back issue through the what is enlightenment website.
This is an issue no businessperson can afford to miss.
click here for WIE
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Rock Climbing this Saturday for Youth grades 6-12!
Who: All 6th-12th grade students and friends
What: Indoor rock climbing and dinner
Where: Inside Moves- Grand Rapids
When: Saturday September 24
Time: Meet at The Annex at 5:30 pm
Cost: $16 per person
C3 Teen Making Headlines and Supporting a Great Campaign
"SPRING LAKE - A small project begun at Duke University to change perceptions about homophobia on campus has spread across the United States and is finding roots in Michigan.
"One ally who is determined not to be drowned out by homophobic noise is fourteen-year-old Chloe Beighley, who has started a 'fine by me' shirt campaign in Spring Lake, Michigan.
"Beighley's mother, Colette, said that her daughter became 'hurricane Chloe' when she heard about the shirts.
"'She contacted the students services director for permission to wear the shirt, and then she asked if she could sell them on campus' at her high school, said the elder Beighley. But that was just the beginning.
"'She got approval from Christ Community Church in Spring Lake,' her mother said. 'She can set up a table to sell the shirts and they'll publicize it.'"
Buy your "gay? fine by me" t-shirt, this Sunday from Chloe in the narthex.
The t-shirts are $10.
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Connections Groups on "Sins of Scripture"
Connections small groups on Sins of Scripture runs September 25th and October 2nd.
Connections Book Discussion Format:
Book discussions will be divided into six topical groups following sections in the book. All topics will be repeated and offered each week. You may stay in the same group or move to a different group each week.
The Bible and Environment -- Urban Café
The Bible and Women -- Conference Room 1 The Bible and Homosexuality -- Metro Room The Bible and Children -- Chapel The Bible and Anti-Semitism --Conference Room 2 The Bible and Certainty -- Geneva Room
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