How Greed Affects Society:

The Duality of Greed: Perspectives on Its Role in Society

Some would argue that greed is a good thing because it affects society in a positive way due to job creation, innovation, access to goods and services, technological advancements, and ability. The reasoning is rooted in what Adam Smith calls the 'market’s invisible hand' at force, which allows for the ideas of people seeking more to overflow and affect others positively. Adam Smith’s friend, Milton Friedman, would argue that in the free-market capitalism, there are positive outcomes. While I could easily get onboard with these ideas when I first studied them in school, I was looking at this from the lens of a pure capitalist economy free from manipulation and not dictated by a few who overwhelmingly come out ahead by amassing huge corporations and profit at the expense of others. I’m not here to say Capitalism in itself is wrong but to talk about how greed affects society.

When looking at greed, we have to understand the viewpoint of who we are looking at this from first before moving into anything else. People who are from a certain class or status can easily say Adam Smith is correct and that anyone and everyone can simply rely on the market, and greed is a necessity to do business. But anyone in another class or status outside of that viewpoint would see it differently. I’m not here to argue what is right or wrong but to look at it from a biblical standpoint. I believe that God’s wisdom is above man’s wisdom, and His word endures forever.

Greed's Impact: An Examination through Biblical and Societal Lenses

Greed, in its natural nature according to God, is horrible and is an idol to our Almighty God. The Lord thy God shall be number one. (Matthew 22:37) Greed overall is beyond detrimental and atrocious for our society because it affects our resources, leads to exploitative practices and inequitable access, few have influence and control, generational impacts, and social segregation.

My statement about your viewpoint matters because if you are in a class that benefits from greed, it doesn’t seem horrible, and from your viewpoint, you may be asking: 'Well, why doesn’t everyone else just do what I do and work as hard as I do, and they will be where I’m at now?' This would be the same person to argue against welfare and call people lazy but not willing to look at the system and how it was built to really see if everyone has equal opportunity.

The same people that don’t live a life that calls to what God would call us to because they compare and envision a group of people or individuals unto themselves believing everyone has the same access to opportunities. In their thought process, they believe they were afforded the same opportunities as everyone else without understanding why so many people are literally just given up because greed has its roots so deep into America’s system.

I liken America to an old-school arcade video game: To win the American game, you need a quarter and compete every level to be successful; however, it is slightly in favor of some players to no fault of their own, but the game designer put in the code way back when they built it over 200 years ago that if you look a certain way or born in a certain class, you will get different opportunities (cheat codes). When other people are playing the same game but are a person of color, they don’t get the same opportunity (cheat codes), they yell out 'rigged!' Some people don’t want to play this game because they blame the code that was written over 200 years ago, and then even worse, there are some who never even got the quarter to start the game. When the game is rigged against you, some people will fight and become the exception to the rules because they were helped and someone gave them the same opportunity (cheat code) they received. The person without the quarter, it’s over before it even started, and they are looking around like, 'What is going on?'

Food for thought: Why is it when a person of color or disenfranchised individuals is 'successful,' it’s the exception to the rule but the norm for everyone else? What does that say about our society and its thought process, and isn’t it likened to this video game?

Please understand, I strong heartily believe in working unto God as he views work but there are warnings biblically on how we do our work and particular greed. People and corporations (companies made of people) should adhere because it is morally and ethical sound. It’s just the right thing to do because God wants us to do the right thing. What does it matter if I gain the whole world but lose my soul. What is the purpose to everything if greed is ahold in us?

Resource Hording and Inequitable Access:

Greed drives individuals, groups, and corporations to amass disproportionate amounts of wealth, resources, or opportunities, often at the expense of others who are left with limited access to essential resources. Literally, the country of America was built on greed. It was built on resource hoarding and inequitable access. Not just in the form of race and groups but class as well.

Not every white person had the same privileges as a few and selected ones. Nevertheless, people of color fared much worse from indigenous people to enslaved Africans.

America was built on the backs of colored people literally and metaphorically. American’s foundation involved land expropriation from indigenous communities and the exploitation of enslaved Africans creating a legacy of resource hoarding and unequal access.

The doctrine of Manifest Destiny led to Western expansion, often at the expense of Indigenous land rights and resources. The Industrial Revolution saw the rise of wealthy industrialists while workers of all colors faced harsh conditions and limited rights contributing to vast economic disparities. Greed-driven individuals and entities exploited labor, think Henry Ford, Rockefeller, and Carnegie, manipulated markets, or took advantage of vulnerable populations to maximize profits. This exploitation led to unfair wages, poor working conditions, and economic disparities, perpetuating a cycle of inequality where certain groups are marginalized or disenfranchised.

After World War II, FHA and even past federal acts limited home ownership for people of color. Systemic racism and discrimination have historically limited access to resources like education, healthcare, housing, and so on for marginalized groups, such as Jim Crow Laws, segregation laws, and Redlining. Though a massive amount of progress has been made, addressing the historical legacy of resource inequity remains a crucial challenge for achieving a more equitable society in America.

The Profound Impact of Wealth Disparity and Generational Inequity

The Few, the proud, the billionaires. You thought I was going to say Marines. According to a Forbes magazine article I’m going to paste in here, the top 1% of Americans have a combined net worth of $34.2 trillion (or 30.4% of all household wealth in the U.S.), while the bottom 50% of the population holds just $2.1 trillion combined (or 1.9% of all wealth) - URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/10/08/top-1-of-us-households-hold-15-times-more-wealth-than-bottom-50-combined/?sh=1beb42765179

This would be an estimated less than 1000 people are billionaires within that group that account for about half of the top 1% wealth. What a club of influence and control. This allows them to shape policies, regulations, and systems in their favor. Why do you think they can lobby to get things done for their companies at the expense of others because they can kick back resources to their friends. Greed not only is a sin accordingly to the bible but leads to other sins as well. It is so common now that when people are caught in Greed, they will lie to protect themselves or bribe people or even try to get others murder or killed to escape consequences. Sometimes I don’t think it's about the money in Greed but the power to and influence you have over others. This is a God like quality that should only be left to the one and true God.

That’s why God particularly calls this out. He should be first in your heart. Generational impacts of inequality can easily be seen in wealth accumulation and opportunities passed down from generation to generation. Privileged families have a leg up while others struggle to break free from poverty mindset and actual poverty. This can easily be seen in people of color, particularly the African American community, of generational impact. They couldn’t even own homes due to laws and were driven out of neighborhoods or threatened to the point of lynching and death when they did try to overcome. The Civil Rights Act ushered in a wave of hope but the lingering effects of generational gaps in wealth don’t help people of color when greed was so deeply rooted in the systemic system of America. The limited access to resources due to this unequal distribution inhibits social mobility and widens the gap between different socioeconomic classes.

God’s Final Take

Ultimately, God's message encourages humility, empathy, and selflessness, urging individuals and societies to prioritize love, justice, and the well-being of others. The Bible underscores the principle of caring for the marginalized, the poor, and the oppressed, urging humanity to treat others with fairness, love, and respect. Let no one show any partiality to another man as God does not (Romans 2:11) This serves as a guiding principle for creating a more just, equitable, and compassionate society in alignment with God's teachings.