Greed, often stands as a critical vice which poses the potential to manipulate an individual or society’s functioning. These are the lubricant that make man bound to go for wealth, power or those material possessions no matter the consequences. The effects of greed in the present generation can be observed and experienced in the different fields including; business, politics, and interpersonal relationship.
Another clear feature of greed in the current society is exhibited in the business realms. This is a case seen in many organizations where the management focuses mainly on profits as well as disregards the health of their workers and surroundings. This hunger for more money has seen companies engage in the following wrong doings; exploitation of workers, polluting nature, fraudulent activities. Corporations are also to blame for income differences as they continue to pay CEOs huge salaries, while their employees have to face hardships.
In the political field more often than not greed has led to corrupt practices and misuse of authority. The main reason why political leaders mainly those with greed as one of their primary vices end up making decisions that do not have the best interest of the people they represent. This has resulted in such malpractices as scandals, bribery and works for the cronies going against the principles of democracy not to mention the dwindling confidence in the government institutions. Greed that is exhibited by politicians leads to the formulation of destructive policies regarding issues affecting the masses of people.
Selfishness on the other hand, at the individual level, brings about the fall of relationships to a point where one becomes a social outcast. Enthusiasm is closely connected with selfishness and greed makes people concentrate on the material gains and, therefore, become involved in actions that are manipulative by their nature. This can also affect ones’ relation with family and friends, which can further lead to poor reputation in the community. Consequently, persons in the pursuit of material wealth are likely to feel unfulfilled and unhappy because nothing can really fill the void.
Thus, one can see that greed is neither a personal phenomenon only but has social consequences as well. Greedy people become a norm and are encouraged to become more greedy and selfish therefore they do not have a sound base of empathy as they should be working cooperatively. This makes people more self-centered and self-absorbed, which does not augur well for society since the interest of the majority is usually disregarded as everyone seeks to better his or her position.
Thus, in the context of the contemporary world, it is possible to counterbalance the detrimental influence of greed with the help of values like generosity, compassion, and integrity. Looking at the subject of greed and how it can be combated, this means that greed can indeed be addressed through the principles of pro-social orientation and ethical behavior. They also play an important role in ensuring that there is eradiculation of corrupt practices that are in most cases embraced by the leaders that are in power.
Lastly, it is high time that people realized that the problems associated with greed can be solved only on the societal level and that the attempts should be made towards the development of the just world. Thus, if more and more people question the current paradigm and fight for promoting the principles that would serve the majority of society, people can create the world that does not openly crave not only other people’s money but also support the system that benefits the majority. It is only possible to overcome the negative effects of greed in the modern world by acknowledging the society’s wrongdoing and striving for change and improvement.
