Greed

What is happiness? There are as many definitions of happiness as the number of philosophers who ponder on this simple, yet non-trivial, question. The connection between happiness and material wealth is not straight forward nowadays. With excessively rich people like Bill Gates trying to find better ways to distribute their wealth among the needy and public outrage at bonuses paid to fat cat bankers, it is not the best of times to gather a large reservoir of money. Being obscenely wealthy is a contemporary form of mortal sin according to the Catholic Church.

Greed is the egoistic drive to gather riches, food, power and other material, usually at the expense of others and of happiness. This capital sin deprives the needy from their daily bread and the resources required to live decently. Capitalist countries derive fuel from wheat, so as to power their economy, while citizens in the South dies of hunger. They then suggest that overpopulation is the source of the South’s poverty, and urge them to restrict the size of their families, so as not to impact on the world’s fragile ecosystem. They are not inclined to lower their lustful and luxurous lifestyle, which is the root of the planet’s downfall.

Greed, coupled with envy – China will not cap its carbon emission so as not to impede its ‘rightful, deserved’ development – is already putting enough strain on this planet. Developing countries such as India, China and Brazil, now want to broaden their economy, so as to be able to boast themselves as being developed in a near future. The times in which we are living now however does not authorize any nation to pursue economic progress at the expense of other nations. The wisest move for our planet would be to shrink the economy of wealthy nations and halt the progress of developing ones. However, no one will agree to stop this mad pursuit. Will there be hope for our planet then?

As a species, we have been able to deal with any situation thrown at us. I also believe in the existence of a universal notion justice, which governs all life. The recent financial crisis is a blessing – it should help us to slow down and think about alternative and sustainable social models. I also believe however, that if human greed is not quenched by alarming signs of distress caused by an inhumane social structure, Nature and Gaia will get rid of us, unworthy dwellers of the planet Earth.