True or False: For a majority of people, their primary motivation in life is greed?

Question

Please explain (and/or use examples) why you feel this is true or false. Thanks.

I think this is true, whether we're consciously aware of it or not.

Answer 1

Desire, not greed. Greed holds a negative connotation in this case. Humans are motivated by desire, desire for the 'better' more 'interesting' choice. Desire can motivate us to do positive and negative things, it's just the way you control it.  

Answer 2

True, because it is natural. Animals horde food for survival. People are simply greedy for more than that.

Answer 3

Depends what you mean by greed.  If it means selfishness then I would say true.  And I wouldn't say most people I would say ALL people.  I think we all do things for selfish motivations.  This doesn't mean we don't care about people or want to help them ever.  It means that we do things because we WANT to do them.  Because we feel our best interests will be served by doing them.  And building relationships or ensuring another's survival or mental health CAN be in our best interest.  It's nicer to be in a world of happy people rather than in a world of angry or depressed people.

If greed means the accumulation of large quantities of wealth or fame or temporal power then I would say false.  I think these drives are obsessions.  The person fixates on the idea that enough of these things will make them happy.  There always has to be more because they know that what they have is not making them feel the way they want to feel.  So they need to imagine that more is what they need to get that feeling.  But the truth is that it's a poor substitute for what they really want, usually some denied emotional need like intimacy or love or expression of anger, and can never really fill the hole they're trying to fill.

Answer 4

To first answer your question I need to define "greed". My interpretation of greed is an excessive desire to accumulate and gather more than one needs or deserves, particularly wealth and possessions.

The majority of the people would be a 49 % versus a 51%, so a slight difference in to make majority. I am going to agree that the majority of people do have a primary motivation of greed. Yet, one needs to look at the society that we live in when answer this question also. I live in the US (not sure where you live) and here we put emphasis on the "American Dream" and independence of the "I" instead of the "We" as in other countries. Look at the media that surrounds us just pushing bigger, luxuries, more, more, more to acquire wealth and possessions. We are also products out of environment and this has a basis in the answering the question. Most people would rather live in a $200,000 house with luxuries and similar to a comfortable lifestyle, than choose a $25,000 house and struggling in today's society to just make ends meet. This is a motivation for some to put emphasis on greed.

Now, the other part of my answer is there are people who have transcended higher in their awareness in life to look deeper then what the eye meets. Some individuals understand that the purpose of life is not met with accumulation of wealth and possessions, but something deeper and more meaningful than what a larger house with expensive luxuries can provide. Their actions are not based upon a "one-up" attitude, but rather a progression towards "higher existence".

Added: Whoo hoo, it went through!! I have been trying for 2 days to answer this question and YA kept saying they were on a coffee break.

Answer 5

Greed,anger, stupidity have been the scourge of the majority forever. Just look around.

Answer 6

Great question!

You've received some thoughtful replies already ... however, I'm going to frame my reply somewhat differently and approach my answer of "False" from a perspective aligned with my view (academic and personal) of human nature.

For me, all people -that is, all 6.7 billion of us- are motivated (driven, urged, compelled -I'm not going to debate the term "motivated" based on semantics) by survival.  Call it instinctive, inerent, God-given, fate-driven ... regardless, the primary motivation, consciously or not, is the quest to survive.  From that primal and most reasonable of all our motivations, everything else is subservient.

However, greed, envy, licentiousness, and the convoy of all other rather dubious drives certainly exist -I'm not disputing that, but, do those other desires (excessive and, for some, obsessive) dominant the drive for survival?  I don't believe so.

In my view, greed may very well be some sub-conscious urge that, when fully analyzed, actually may be revealed as some real but quite illogical and unreasonable buffer the mind creates to lessen the inevitability of our death.  That is, the accumulation of material things -and money- is used by our mind to convince us (rather half-heartedly) that if we excel at greediness we, by default, prolong our survival.

Answer 7

I can't judge another person's motivation.  It would appear as though that's the case with many people, but who really knows what goes on in the heart of another?  Certainly not me.

Answer 8

I also think it is true. People have the habit of buying things they will never use, filling up their garages and even renting storage for stuff that will soon be worthless.

They get into their cars and drive around just to drive, using gasoline to show that they can afford it and to heck with the people that can't afford it.

When I used to go to church, most people seemed to go just to show off their "fine clothes".

In schools, it is their "stylish clothing", their jewelry, their latest what-ever things.

Look at the CEOs of Big Business: they are now being paid Billions of dollars a year! (Who does the actual work?) And how about the CEOs of Red Cross and all those other so-called charities? They don't need millions of dollars, Carribbean cruises, etc., when supposedly they are helping the needy, the destitute, etc.

So, I see greed everywhere. People should live within their means and if they have more than enough, help those who don't have enough.

Answer 9

The Fortune Cookie ♥ says:

Desire is the same thing as greed.

People want love in their life. The more, the better!

People want money in their live, also.

Out purpose in life, they say, is to live life to the fullest. Do whatever you have to do to make it better. Greed is what makes it better. Without greed, you would be unhappy about everything you receive. It's little surprises that count. =)

Love, The Fortune Cookie ♥  

Answer 10

The primary motivation of life is self interest.

Greed just means someone else thinks you've acquired more than they think you should.

So if you are a poor Communist the majority of people are greedy.

If you are rich Capitalist you feel society benefits from those who want more than their 'share'.

As a Libertarian I feel society is diminished when you let a bunch of control freak losers tell you how much you should want.

Answer 11

Largely, this is true.

Answer 12

aka "what will this do for me?"

Yes.

Answer 13

...true...we all want to better ourselves to move on and up...call it what

you want...i call it greed when YOU don't stop...

Answer 14

Most people just want a better life for themselves and their families.  I think that only a small percentage of people are truly motivated by greed.

Answer 15

Sorry to tell that it is false. There maybe many greedy people but I believe that it will never out number the better ones who would strive for prosperity without really getting greedy. We know that even people possess many things or even earned too much. Most of us still find some various ways with our interest to share it to others. We are still mostly sentimental people than just being mean. Basically we have better hearts that changes due to many influential aspects. But we always have the nerve that lingers in our innermost core to sense if we feel the need to share in any means with others. If greed will be the primary motivation of majority. It will be possibly that in every nation of the world, there will be real great turmoils and sufferings..Not even one part of a society will be peaceful.  But somehow, those nations who were suffering from great disturbances were already having its own cultural influence based in history. We still find ways to cope up with it hopefully. As there were still  many generous hearts in deeply concerned or even those still unexpressed help from others. Yet may feel deep compassion.

In majority that we find ourselves one of these people struggling to survive and motivated to prosper, to learn and feel the need to share even just a tiny part of what we can give to express our very human side.

It is also nature. The give and take relationship just comes up with us people.