UPSC Ethics Simplified | Greed vs Need — The concept

After getting so much exposure to values and ethics in life, why does an individual compromise just for a few bucks or any selfish gain? Have you ever thought about this aspect of human transactions where needs are overpowered by intemperate greed? Greed easily bends a person. Later it distances oneself from the public good. Self-centeredness looms large on every decision. Ethical dilemmas faint. Do you agree?

What is Greed?

Why do even so-called literate or empowered persons lose their moral reasoning so easily? That is only because of greed. Greed means craving for more (food, power, money, etc.) than the actual need. And this ‘more’ is not qualitative like Ye Dil Maange More. It is infact quantitative where Nothing is Enough and where more — land, houses, clothes, and money — don’t have any fencing. Yes, you are right. This ‘more’ fails all of us in moral fencing. The result is simple. The foundation of infrastructures, benefits, policies, implementation, speed of decision making, and sense of inclusiveness loses its strength and gradually the social and economic need is replaced by greed. Here I  remember a statement — Mahatma Gandhi said, “There is enough on this earth for everyone’s need but for no one’s greed.”

What did Gandhi mean?

Here. Bapu wishes to make us more sensitive about nature, which is really bountiful and the natural resources present on our planet Earth are certainly adequate to fulfill the needs of all human beings, provided, the needs are appropriately identified and catered to. Our Mother Nature has all the resources to fulfil everyone’s needs, however, when one’s perception or lifestyle shifts from need to greed i.e. associating one’s happiness and career with aspiring for more and more then, such aspirations are limitless. But despite how beautiful the earth’s resources might seem to be, these are still not infinite, and therefore, even if one person hankers after ‘greed’ i.e. wanting more and more, it cannot be satisfied. Such a tendency of greed or greedy mindset plays havoc, it depletes natural resources, destroys the ecology, and creates strife and disharmony among people. We are witnessing many of the maladies that we are witnessing in the present times are a direct consequence of increasing human greed which is proving catastrophic.

In this context, we may conclude that this wisdom statement by Mahatma Gandhi acquires great significance for all of us. A bureaucrat has to restrain and always keep a moral eye on his or her acts. And why only bureaucrats? Everyone should learn to distance themselves and exhort to strive hard to be able to recognise one’s real needs and try to cater to them in harmony with nature. The core message and aspect of the need/ greed argument is that we have to make all attempts to shun greed, so that we all human beings may continue to live with peace and harmony on planet Earth. And it is the ultimate spirit of public service. To create an environment of peace and harmony.

BTW

Can you relate any other statement of a great philosopher nearer to this discussion? Think, but please don’t Google. That great philosopher is Aristotle. And what did he say?

He said, “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than who overcomes his enemies.” We will certainly discuss it next time. And don’t forget.

लोभमूलानि पापानि संकटानि तथैव च।

लोभात्प्रवर्तते वैरं अतिलोभात्विनश्यति ॥

Greed and sin are the root cause of all miseries or troubles of life. Greed increases enmity and one is destroyed due to unending greed.

EXPRESS INPUT

JUST FYI | An anecdote: Don’t let wealth determine your happiness

Can a person live without wealth? In the real world, living without money is unimaginable, because everything has a price. But, how much wealth do we actually need? And can it define our outlook towards life and happiness? A YoursWisely video beautifully narrates the predicament, by telling the story of a sage.

A sage once found a coin lying on the road. He picked it up with the intention of giving it to someone who was in need of it. The sage walked the whole day, but in vain. He could not find a single person who he thought needed it. Disappointed, he returned home.

The following morning, when he was outside his house, the king and his army arrived at his doorstep. The king asked for the sage’s blessings, because he was about to go into battle, in order to win more lands and be more powerful. The sage smiled and decided to give the coin to the king. This enraged him, since he was already a king and needed no wealth. “Why would you give me this coin? What is the meaning of this?” he asked, to which the sage replied: “I was looking for someone needy to give this coin to. Yesterday, I looked and looked, but everyone was happy and satisfied. They didn’t need more. But today, you came to me. You are the king, but you still want more. You are still not satisfied. I think you need this coin.”

This put the king to shame. He realised his mistake and decided to give up the expedition.

The story aptly describes a human being’s desire to possess more wealth than they already have. This desire fuels the need to amass more and more, until they are blinded by wealth and the idea of happiness. But, wealth is not happiness, at least it should not be made out to be.

JUST FYI | In his opinion piece ‘Gandhi for the World’ , Prahlad Singh Patel wrote:

Environmental protection is fast becoming a priority for society these days. Intellectuals and activists have taken to the streets in many parts of the world due to the worsening environmental situation. Although the term environment was not in vogue during Bapu’s lifetime, Gandhiji worried about the future. He believed that “there is enough on earth for everybody’s need but not enough for everybody’s greed”. In his article, “Swasthya ki Kunji”, he expressed his views on clean air. He said that three natural resources are needed — air, water and food — but clean air is the most important of them. Gandhiji inspired Indians to spin yarn with charkha and wear hand-woven clothes. The objective behind this was not only to arouse the swadeshi sentiment, but also to reduce general waste, especially the waste from textile mills.

(Prahlad Singh Patel is the Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti GoI.)

POINTS TO PONDER

1. The greed-is-good ideology has permeated all aspects of life. Comment.

2. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “Greed is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things.”  What it means? 

(Answer in the comment box or through your emails)

(The writer is the author of ‘Being Good and Aaiye, Insaan Banaen’. He teaches courses on and offers training in ethics, values and behaviour. He has been the expert/consultant to UPSC, SAARC countries, Civil services Academy, National Centre for Good Governance, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI), etc. He has PhD in two disciplines and has been a Doctoral Fellow in Gandhian Studies from ICSSR. His second PhD is from IIT Delhi on Ethical Decision Making among Indian Bureaucrats. He writes for the UPSC Ethics Simplified (Concepts and Caselets) fortnightly.)

— Edited by Manas Srivastava

Share your views, answers and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.