Does greed have positive side?

Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) in the movie, ‘Wall Street’ (1987) gave an address on ‘Greed is good’ He said “…I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them! 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. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much.”

After watching Michael Douglas in the Oscar award-winning movie, gave his ‘greed is good’ sermon, an interesting argument erupted on whether there is a positive side to being greedy or the word is all surrounded by negative attributes.

“What makes up the phenomenon, ‘ambition’? When people say they are ambitious and encourage others to be like that, what do you think is the underlying drive or factor for such? In my view it is greed,” says Mr. Uzezi Esevohare, an IT specialist.

He explains further. “Greed is something good because it motivates and pushes you to achieve more than you ordinarily would. In your drive to want more, greed enables you to aim for the impossible and perfection in the process.

“Agreed that sometimes it can be taken too far and caution brakes need to be applied, in general I would say it has many, many positive outcomes. I am yet to see one successful person in Nigeria and beyond who does not apply the principle of being greedy. If not why is one person primarily responsible for major business industries in Nigeria like sugar and cement. Why don’t they say one is enough let somebody else take the other ones? Would you then say that such is bad?”

At mention of the word, the connation is negative; therefore I cannot agree that it brings about anything positive, said Architect Omeiza Balogun. “How can anyone therefore say that greed has any positive sides to it when is describes unacceptable behaviours to society. When people are referred to as being greedy it usually because they are thieves and/or want more than they actually need or can handle.”

Fetching a dictionary, she said, “According to the Oxford English Dictionary ‘greed’ is an, “Inordinate or insatiate longing, especially for wealth; avaricious or covetous desire,” in other words, constantly wanting more than what you have.

“No matter how we analyse what Douglas said about greed, we cannot afford to ignore the message in his address,” said Judith Esevohare, a youth corps member.

“We need to appreciate that beyond ‘Wall Street’ there are greedy people everywhere who will go all out to achieve their goals. It is up to you as an upcoming adult to apply their principles to your life as you deem fit or to remain a ‘goody, goody two shoes’.”

According to Elizabeth Mutua, “It all depends on who the beneficiary is, who is being exploited and the magnitude of the exploitation. I don’t think that there is anything that is completely bad because there are some people who may be otherwise blessed from what someone might consider bad. Greed falls into this category for me.

“I’m of the opinion that when greed motivates people to attain new heights it is good. But if it motivates you to steal from others to have at your disposal more than you need or is necessary for your existence, then of course it is harmful. But sadly this is the angle to greed that a lot of us possess and prefer to nurture.”

Giving a final word, Mrs. Lydia Amusu said, “Greed as they have said can be good and can be bad at the same time. It all depends on the intention and the application. But in all, I would say it is not an attribute that one should possess and be proud to have. I say because the more one gets successful from being greedy, the more it becomes a norm. In no time, he will not be able tell the difference from right or wrong. Greed is something we should watch out for carefully so that it does not get the better of us.”