The Motivation And Domination Of Greed Amongst Humanity.

I believe greed,desire,selfishness, and the search for pleasure is the greatest prime mover of humanity.

To quote Gordon Gecko off the hit movie Wallstreet:

Quote :: 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. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.

Active Idealist Number of posts : 75 Registration date : 2008-12-16

I assume you are being polemical, but greed means excess of desire or excess of taking. So it is either redundant in the list - taken care of by desire - or doesn't fit since it only comes with negative connotations. People who are greedy tend to force one kind of desire on themselves. They buy a lot of stuff instead of fulfilling more complicated desires. Out of balance they feel the need, often to take from others AND to not give a shit about the effects of their actions on others.

as far as the quoted 'upward surge or mankind'....

how do you separate out symbiosis, community, teamwork, compassion, social networks
out
in terms of causes
from greed selfishness, etc?

IOW it is easy to say: Greed did this.

When, in fact, it is not so easy to say what created upsurges. One can easily point out all sort of social, communal, team related efforts that lead to upsurges.

There in no mind that is not greedy.

That some would like to only refer to it as a monetary greed, thusly positioning themselves as the enlightened, anti-materialists, is itself a power play.

A mind seeking enlightenment is greedy for knowledge.
A man seeking self-denial is greedy for relief.
A mind seeking sex is greedy for domination or surrender.

We amass what we most feel insecure about and what we identity with.

creasy wrote:: I assume you are being polemical, but greed means excess of desire or excess of taking. So it is either redundant in the list - taken care of by desire - or doesn't fit since it only comes with negative connotations. People who are greedy tend to force one kind of desire on themselves. They buy a lot of stuff instead of fulfilling more complicated desires. Out of balance they feel the need, often to take from others AND to not give a shit about the effects of their actions on others.

as far as the quoted 'upward surge or mankind'....

how do you separate out symbiosis, community, teamwork, compassion, social networks
out
in terms of causes
from greed selfishness, etc?

IOW it is easy to say: Greed did this.

When, in fact, it is not so easy to say what created upsurges. One can easily point out all sort of social, communal, team related efforts that lead to upsurges.

Quote :: how do you separate out symbiosis, community, teamwork, compassion, social networks
out
in terms of causes
from greed selfishness, etc?

I would argue that there is no difference between those emotions and articulations you have listed from that of greed itself in that what you have listed in my eyes are just different manifestations of greed.

Greed and malice can very easily masquerade itself under cloak and dagger as compassion or as the messiah of the people yet beyond the pretentious charade of things it is still greed nonetheless.

Potential Contributor Number of posts : 39 Registration date : 2009-03-01

Greed is the reason why you and me are here so it can't be all that bad, can it?

If you take away greed, what kind of society do you have?

You have one that lives in harmony with, respects and worships nature.

That society existed in Native American society before the discovery of the New World by greedy white men looking for riches. To be fair, religious white men looking for religious freedom came to North America too.

SpeedOfSilence wrote:: Greed is the reason why you and me are here so it can't be all that bad, can it?

The Buddha would disagree with the second part.

Potential Contributor Number of posts : 39 Registration date : 2009-03-01

Taras wrote:

SpeedOfSilence wrote:: Greed is the reason why you and me are here so it can't be all that bad, can it?

The Buddha would disagree with the second part.

The Buddha could be so beautiful because he conquered sex. I just finished (about 2 hours ago) having the most incredible sex with a woman with a beautiful bod. 45 minutes of pure ecstacy. It only cost me $200. Now, I am at peace. I can die right now and I will go with no regrets.

I don't know-- maybe the Buddha was wrapped up a little too tight. Maybe if he had regular sex and enjoyed he wouldn't have been so critical on humanity.

SpeedOfSilence wrote:: The Buddha could be so beautiful because he conquered sex. I just finished (about 2 hours ago) having the most incredible sex with a woman with a beautiful bod. 45 minutes of pure ecstacy. It only cost me $200. Now, I am at peace. I can die right now and I will go with no regrets.

I don't know-- maybe the Buddha was wrapped up a little too tight. Maybe if he had regular sex and enjoyed he wouldn't have been so critical on humanity.

Odd how you come to this forum as an after-thought?

Was the temptation of the flesh not able to quench the thirst of the mind?

Hmm.....................

SpeedOfSilence wrote:: Greed is the reason why you and me are here so it can't be all that bad, can it?

If you take away greed, what kind of society do you have?

You have one that lives in harmony with, respects and worships nature.

That society existed in Native American society before the discovery of the New World by greedy white men looking for riches. To be fair, religious white men looking for religious freedom came to North America too.

...and you think the greedy white men were right to take it? and then be two faced enough to complain about immigrants ? im actually an English girl but anyone with a brain can see how wrong it was to steal the land from the native Americans....

Potential Contributor Number of posts : 39 Registration date : 2009-03-01

electricalice wrote:

SpeedOfSilence wrote:: Greed is the reason why you and me are here so it can't be all that bad, can it?

If you take away greed, what kind of society do you have?

You have one that lives in harmony with, respects and worships nature.

That society existed in Native American society before the discovery of the New World by greedy white men looking for riches. To be fair, religious white men looking for religious freedom came to North America too.

...and you think the greedy white men were right to take it? and then be two faced enough to complain about immigrants ? im actually an English girl but anyone with a brain can see how wrong it was to steal the land from the native Americans....

Might is Right.

Potential Contributor Number of posts : 43 Registration date : 2009-03-04

electricalice wrote:: im actually an English girl but anyone with a brain can see how wrong it was to steal the land from the native Americans....

The Americans learnt from the best. The global "native" problem is appalling -- the Anglos are the master engineers of colonialism.

We need a thread on this issue.

Hadji wrote:

electricalice wrote:: im actually an English girl but anyone with a brain can see how wrong it was to steal the land from the native Americans....

The Americans learnt from the best. The global "native" problem is appalling -- the Anglos are the master engineers of colonialism.

We need a thread on this issue.

(I probably should not be laughing but...)

We(sterners) have a whole *HEMISPHERE* devoted to Colonialism: Amerika!

Land of the Free (white men), Home of the Brave (dead Indians). Sad

Potential Contributor Number of posts : 43 Registration date : 2009-03-04

SpeedOfSilence wrote:: I just finished (about 2 hours ago) having the most incredible sex with a woman with a beautiful bod. 45 minutes of pure ecstacy. It only cost me $200.

45 dollars for 200 minutes.

Quote :: I can die right now and I will go with no regrets.

The feeling is not mutual.

I am beginning to feel, that it is exactly from doing immoral things that we learn our morals -- for those of us who learn our own morals from experience and not from rote I mean.

"Don't sleep with hookers."

"Why not?"

"Why not?"

Throwing myself into the discussion at a late stage and without having read it trough thoroughly.

I believe curiosity is the sole most important trait of mankind. The reason is really very simple. If, as the fool originally stated, humanity advanced trough "greed,desire,selfishness, and the search for pleasure" there would be very little progress.

If greed rather than curiosity had governed our actions we would rather destroy the unknown than try and understand it. True that we for a very long time tried to destroy what is different, but in the end new ideals and philosophies always managed to break trough and embrace us. When looking at close relatives to us we can see that they are flock animals and even though there is a strict hierarchy in their community they still take care of each other.

Darwinists have often been asked the question "why is it that we don't kill every person that possess something we want for ourselves, if your theories are true?"
The short answer is that we are programmed to kill other species for food or in self-defence, but never our own kin. The primates is one of the most social and "empathic" groups of animals toward their own, surpassed only by a few orders of other mammals. Our wish to create and nourish excels that to dominate and to destroy.

When we look around us and see, despite the wars and horribilities going on, the societies that have flourished and still flourishes, all the cultural achievements, all the technological advancements and all the moral progressions we have made there can be no doubt to what pushes humanity to always think of new ways to slove problems. Egoism is a far less potent force than collectivism, it was only a couple of thousand decades ago that our ancestors discovered that they were unique individuals.

In short our ancestors show it, our relatives show it and our progression shows it.

Hadji wrote:

electricalice wrote:: im actually an English girl but anyone with a brain can see how wrong it was to steal the land from the native Americans....

The Americans learnt from the best. The global "native" problem is appalling -- the Anglos are the master engineers of colonialism.

We need a thread on this issue.

I never said they did'nt

......though you can hardly blame me for that i wasnt born till 1990 ...but yes it is discusting it seems as if people care more about money than other human beings

Active Idealist Number of posts : 63 Age : 33 Registration date : 2008-12-14

Hadji wrote:: "Don't sleep with hookers."

"Why not?"

"Why not?"

http://www.bayswan.org/cambodia.html

SilentSoliloquy wrote:: http://www.bayswan.org/cambodia.html

10/10 on the propaganda.

Quote :: You give us AIDS; when we are no longer profitable you leave us to die, but we do not die in peace: you point your finger and you blame us.

You *ARE* to blame though precisely-because you are too weak and stupid to begin with, unable to protect yourselves. You are unthinking and do not think to blame yourselves for the situations you are in. Man = Woman; ergo women choose to be prostitutes. This is the reasoning of Feminism, Humanism, and General Equality is it not? It is the Nature of the Beast. Too bad for you ... shed a tear. Nobody cares. Actions speak louder than words anyway. Kill yourself and spare us the details instead.

Quote :: But after that, I was lured to becoming a sex worker under false promises.

Waaaahhhhh, waahhh, waahhh!

I was lured into the pedo-van when the man promised me a chocolate candy!

Waaaahhhhh, waahhh, waahhh!

Cry a fucking river... Laughing

...perhaps you should grow a brain and not get into the van next time, or a pair of balls, and fight for yourself.

Active Idealist Number of posts : 63 Age : 33 Registration date : 2008-12-14

Your hypermasculinity is showing.

SilentSoliloquy wrote:: Your hypermasculinity is showing.

10/10 on the rhetoric and slander.

Try again; use Reason next time if you can...

Active Idealist Number of posts : 63 Age : 33 Registration date : 2008-12-14

It was no insult. You're demonstrating a hyperbolic macho behavior so as to avoid appearing as you truly would, not as a careless exploitative abuser, but generally respective. You believe firmly that acting ruthless and aggressive is a sign that you truly are masculine, when you are not (perhaps to your standards), and you fear that and so overcompensate.

SilentSoliloquy wrote:: It was no insult. You're demonstrating a hyperbolic macho behavior so as to avoid appearing as you truly would, not as a careless exploitative abuser, but generally respective. You believe firmly that acting ruthless and aggressive is a sign that you truly are masculine, when you are not (perhaps to your standards), and you fear that and so overcompensate.

Incorrect, I am simply-placing the blame where it is deserved (i.e. the little complaining slut in the website you linked).

Who cares about her, honestly? Are you flying to Cambodia tomorrow? No, you are not. You are a hypocrite. Actions speak louder than words like I said before and I say just now. You are just spewing feminist, emotional rhetoric on the off-whim chance that you *MIGHT BE* "making a case" against what Jean said. The real problem is: your argument stinks. It is a bunch of bullshit. You actually-have no argument as per usual. That girl emphatically-stated and assumed *SHE* was the one who chose to become a prostitute. It is no irony that you failed to catch that little fact. She chose her line of work and she cries about it? I suppose if I join the mob, then I should cry about the criminal lifestyle it affords should I not, under the very same logic?

There is only ever one person to blame in life for any consequence, and that is yourself, always.

You can call that "hyper-masculine" if you want, attempting to demean my argument & reasoning, but that is what I truly think, feel, and believe.

So piss off if you do not believe me. The little slut sounds like a little crybaby to me: honestly.

Find yourself a better argument next time.

SilentSoliloquy wrote:: You're demonstrating a hyperbolic macho behavior so as to avoid appearing as you truly would, not as a careless exploitative abuser, but generally respective.

I am not demonstrating any particular behavior. I am merely-responding to your rhetorical arguments.

SilentSoliloquy wrote:: You believe firmly that acting ruthless and aggressive is a sign that you truly are masculine,

You are telling me what I believe and I find this very, very insulting to my person.

If this situation were carried out in-person, then I would feel the urge to strike you (man or woman), god's honest truth.

SilentSoliloquy wrote:: when you are not (perhaps to your standards), and you fear that and so overcompensate.

What am I overcompensating for?

I react appropriately when another person attempts to tear me down to a lesser level (like you are doing without realizing).

Your argument was no argument at all (unreasoned) and now you are attacking my person out of spite and revenge.

You *COULD* provide a better argument for your claims, but now you are getting personal because you have no argument at all.

Active Idealist Number of posts : 63 Age : 33 Registration date : 2008-12-14

Quote :: There is only ever one person to blame in life for any consequence, and that is yourself, always.

Ok well next time you're born in a slum or the projects, when you're presented with your million and one choices, be sure to become the CEO of a real estate firm and not a prostitute or gangster.

Brilliant at deduction.

SilentSoliloquy wrote:: Ok well next time you're born in a slum or the projects, when you're presented with your million and one choices, be sure to become the CEO of a real estate firm and not a prostitute or gangster.

Brilliant at deduction.

Socialists are disgusting. Maybe if you cry louder you will get your way! Crying or Very sad

Be sure to let me know someday when you book a flight to Cambodia to go assist a bunch of whores. That would make my day.

SilentSoliloquy wrote:

Quote :: There is only ever one person to blame in life for any consequence, and that is yourself, always.

Ok well next time you're born in a slum or the projects, when you're presented with your million and one choices, be sure to become the CEO of a real estate firm and not a prostitute or gangster.

Brilliant at deduction.

i for one agree with you

» Humanity's purpose.
» Humanity's Purpose II
» The strongest growing pains of humanity