De Leon 1

Samuel De Leon
Mrs. Rodriguez
English II
05 June 2014
How Does Greed Affects Today Modern Society
While watching a movie I realized that greed has a great impact on society in more than one
way. That greed has changed the way we act and the way of how we connect with other people.
Living in a capitalism society makes greed more possible and easier for people than any other
society like socialism and communism. I could not find numerous articles on selfishness itself,
but more with other human characteristics. Throughout this paper my purpose is to explain how
avarice affects not humans individually, but also how it can change an entire society and the way
it works.
To carry out this goal, I have organized my paper into five main sections, one of which has a
sub-section. In the first section, I explain what greed is in general and reasons of why greed exist
in people. In the second section, I discuss the effects of avarice in people and their ability to
interact with other people. I continue my paper with clarification with the consequences of
greediness in nature regarding the overuse of natural resources. I finish my paper with a fourth
section that defines avarice in corporations and the outcomes in the working class and conclude
with a fifth section that discusses whether if greed is a benefit or a detriment to the community.
In addition, I worked in a notes page where certain information will be included before the
Works Cited. In essence to finally conclude my thesis, I will provide enough information to
altercate about the repercussion avariciousness in the general public.
De Leon 2

1. What Is Greed?
Greed is not just simply something that humans have, but its a human instinct that
transcends years of evolution to our greatest basic urges. Its something that we are born with,
its an expression of innate biological factors Freud argued that greed was natural, that man was
born greedy (Coutu). It is just that some people know to control it better than others. To
understand more, the Oxford Dictionary defines greed as Intense and selfish desire for
something, especially wealth, power, or food This means that a greedy person will always want
to increase what they crave. Although it doesnt matter how much they possess, it wont be
enough for them. Examples of what they want could be money, worldly belongings, fame, etc. In
other words, there is not an exact point where we can say when greed was born since in a certain
way its always been there.
2. Effects of Excess on Humans
Selfishness for money has a strong effect on people in the way they interact with people and
observe the world. It can corrupt someone or rather Money doesn't change men, it merely
unmasks them. If a man is naturally selfish or arrogant or greedy, the money brings that out,
that's all (Ford). Restating what Freud said, everyone is born greedy, therefore everyone is
susceptible to be affected by it. Moreover is notorious that an exuberance of desire can lead to:
Early negative experiences, misconceptions about the nature of self, life or others, a
constant fear and sense of insecurity, a maladaptive strategy to protect the self, and a
persona to hide all of the above in adulthood. (Barry)
Meaning that can distort someones life and personality by not trusting people or just not care
about people to focus instead in their goals to acquire more possessions.
De Leon 3

For instance, reiterating what I said about some people knowing to control greed more
than others, a new study found that richer people are more unethical compared to low-class
people. To further explain this:
Seven studies using experimental and naturalistic methods reveal that upper-class
individuals behave more unethically than lower-class individuals. In the studies
upper-class individuals were more likely to break the law while driving, relative
to lower-class individuals. In follow-up laboratory studies, upper-class individuals
were more likely to exhibit unethical decision-making tendencies, take valued
goods from others, lie in a negotiation, cheat to increase their chances of winning
a prize, and endorse unethical behavior at work than were lower-class individuals.
Mediator and moderator data demonstrated that upper-class individuals' unethical
tendencies are accounted for, in part, by their more favorable attitudes toward
greed. (Nisbett 1)
Dr. Paul Piff published this study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, after
the realization of the seven experiments, he concluded that Relative to lower-class individuals,
individuals from upper-class backgrounds behaved more unethical (Piff 3). This is the proof
that greedy people will always wish more goods no matter how much they already have and are
willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish their desire. In conclusion, humans tend to change
or reveal themselves when they possess large amounts of money and greedy people are likely to
not understand or not be interested in others peoples emotions.


De Leon 4

3. Greed on Nature
There is different types of greed, one that lately should we be more concerned about as the
natural resources keep being used as theyre endless is greed in relation with the environment.
We use natural resources such as fossil fuels, water, forests, electricity, etc. as they were infinite.
We abuse them in such a selfish way without thinking that were damaging the ecosystem, and
not pondering about there will be a point where we will run out of resources to use.
Recapitulating, the end of our most used resources could be closer than we think In its 1997
World Forest Atlas that if felling were to continue at the current rate [deforestation], the world's
forests would disappear within fifty years (Babin 27). Taking that on board, the world has an
overpopulation, and at the rate we continue using raw materials maybe its already too late to try
to revert what we have done. Certainly is no longer enough to change our light bulbs, we must
change our very cultures (Hough).
However thinking only about how the abuse of resources affects us is still selfish. Were not
the only ones living in the world, theres also organisms like plants and animals that we are
threatening by our choices. By the deforestation animals have nowhere to live, therefore theyre
dying or are reaching the point where theyre being exterminated. Thus breaking a food chain
that puts even more animals in danger. The environment is delicate, we just cant play with it
hoping everything will be okay. In the end greed can affect everybody.
We have to be more careful with our resources and at the same time be sure were not
damaging the environment to a threatening level.


De Leon 5

4. Greed in Corporations
Probably one of the most common types of greed is in corporations, where CEOs and
directors just want to stuff themselves with money while their workers earn minimum wage. This
category of greed is very common in countries like in the U.S. which makes us more vulnerable
compared to countries governed by socialism and communism. A famous quote of Wall Street is
The point is, ladies and gentleman, that 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
(Stone). Maybe for a greedy stockbroker greed is good, but when it comes to bottom line people,
it can be their perdition. The fact that well-positioned corporate people cant never have enough
will be the downfall of the economy.

4.1 Effects to the proletariat