Traditional name: AVARICE
Better known today as: Greed; Materialism
Better known today as: Greed; Materialism
A free market has proved to be the most effective way to make a nation prosperous. The profit motive, which medieval Christianity distrusted, is not the sin of greed. In fact, when Gordon Gecko proclaims that "Greed is good", he's merely proclaiming (though for a bad purpose) this fact of life.
We get into sin when we equate our worth as people with our financial assets. There is no reason to go without the basics that you need to live a healthy life. But today, entire cultures (I won't say which ones) define your worth in terms of your possessions and earning power, and reject you if you're not making money. On my psychiatry rotation, I was shown examples and told that "A man who fails in business can expect to be completely rejected even by his own family." There are enormous profits to be made in illegal businesses, where "business people" kill each other as part of the job. We all hear stories of children being killed for a jacket or piece of jewelry. This is yet another root of crime -- both white-collar and street-crime. And it makes people miserable.
I went to college with a lot of really rich, really spoiled boys and girls. Believe me, their parents weren't doing them a favor.
Available: [online] www.pathguy.com
Published: Jan.30.2005
Accessed Date: 08.03.2011
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