Greed: The Other Green- Eyed Monster
How even in moderation it can be harmful
Avarice. Avidity. Cupidity. Covetousness. Voracity. Ravenousness. Rapacity. Gluttony. “Greed” actually comes from the Greek word, Voracious, meaning, always hungry for more.
Different names, same ugly monster. Greed. The sibling to Envy. Often referred to in mythology, literature, and religion. And not in a good way.
Recently, I had the misfortune of being in my own version of hell, a Sephora store. I discovered that pretty much every celebrity you can think of has their own fragrance. Ariana Grande, Sarah Jessica Parker, Billie Eilish, Dolly Parton, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Michelle Pfeiffer, Lionel Richie (seriously), Katy Perry, and the list goes on. It made me wonder, how much is enough? Not just money, but fame, power, accolades. And when is enough enough?
I would imagine that most of these famous faces have hundreds of millions of dollars and all are household names. So where does the drive come from to launch yet another line with your face on it? Did their agent convince them that to remain relevant they need to keep their name in the game?
Because 372 million followers on Instagram is not enough coverage. Apparently, we need more.
According to psychologist, Victor Shamas (Talkspace, The Psychology of Greed), “Greed and drug use activate similar pleasure pathways in the brain.” Meaning, we get the same feeling of pleasure just by pursuing the reward, it isn’t about the reward itself. Which makes sense because if you aren’t perceiving the reward as rewarding, you will need to seek more in order to get the same result. Like drugs.
So this got me thinking. What is the evolutionary purpose of greed?
According to a December 2022 Sage Journal article, Greed: What is it good for?, “Greed is argued to be essential for human welfare (Williams, 2000) and to facilitate self-preservation because greedy behaviors (e.g., hoarding) provide an evolutionary advantage for those living in scarce environments (Cassill & Watkins, 2004; Robertson, 2001). Thus, there is also a case to be made for greed being good.” But this is not the popular opinion. Nobody wants to be referred to as “being greedy”. And, for the majority of us who are not living in “scarce environments”, greed just remains greed.
I found myself back to where I started. Why are some people greedy and others are not?
I am at an age where if my friends still have their parents, they are elderly and are starting to pass away. And, as I have always had older friends, I am losing some of those as well. With that comes the settling of affairs and sadly, it is often just as heartbreaking as the loss itself. It tears families apart. And why? Greed. Someone wants more than their share. Someone feels wronged. It often has its roots in emotional trauma, but the message is the same. They want more.
Seventeen years ago, when my father passed away, my siblings and I had to not only navigate a messy estate but clean out an even messier home that our family had owned for 35 years. The loss itself was incredibly painful, but the business and financial end could have made it even worse. And while it was hugely stressful just by the nature of what we had to do; it wasn’t worse. Because none of us have the greed gene. If anything, when we would come across something that was not specifically allocated in the will and that more than one person wanted, it would look something like this: “No, you take it.” “No, seriously it’s ok, you take it.”
And it would go on. So, we decided to make a table with a sign, “Shit to fight over.” It was filled with family treasures; the naked lady bottle opener (I am still mad about that one), the poker chips, the tiki cocktail glasses (what? we grew up in the 1970’s) the woodpecker memo holder. When the bulk of the work was done, we got a bottle of my Dad’s favorite whiskey, did shots and played blackjack to decide who got what. It was fantastic. I remember that experience when I hear about siblings fighting over wills, growing farther apart in their resentment and solitary sadness. I am so thankful that our experience was nothing like that and realize that we are in the minority. Some research suggests that greed is inherited. Therefore, it is possible that none of us literally have the greed gene. While others do.
But we can’t blame it all on our parents, no matter how hard we try. There can also be an emotional explanation for greed.
Greed is actually an emotion, not a trait. And like fear, can often be rooted in insecurity. Like when everyone started hoarding toilet paper during Covid. It is fear based. Fear of not having enough. But when you already have enough, what is there to fear not having? If someone has roots of food insecurity or growing up impoverished, for example, it wouldn’t be surprising to continually seek more. But many people grow up with very little and don’t become greedy adults. Maybe it is a combination. Are we back to the age-old question of nature vs. nurture?
I remain intrigued by the concept and want to know more.
But as the lady at Sephora said to me when I told her I would like to buy one of Ariana’s matte nude eye shadows, “Oh honey, don’t we all.”
