Greed, that sly philosopher

How powerful is greed?




Greed is a sly philosopher.


He is a long-suffering sniper.


He waits for the right time to pull the trigger.


His methodology is exact and subtle.


He sits with you like a friend.


He consoles you like a counselor.


He plays religion with you too.


He preaches life more abundantly.


He whispers about a heaven on earth. 


He forces you to confront the cross of shame, poverty and
 rejection.


He wants you to lead a post-Calvary life of overcoming.


Greed wants you to succeed. 


He wants the best for you.


He wants to see you soar.


He wants you to accumulate.


For much will have more, and more will have much.

He is a maternal nurturer whose bosoms flow with milk and honey. 


Greed is a song of hope. 


Greed is a timeless encourager.


He advocates time-honored values.


Perseverance to the end.


Patience to harvest the fruits of one's labor.


Strength to run the race.


And hope to see it all through.


Greed draws upon historical resources too.


Where will capitalism be without greed?


Where will market-driven growth be without greed? 


Where will industrialization be without greed?


Where will globalization be without greed?


Where will modernity, inventions, innovation, creative destruction,
 prosperity, GDP, global trade, wealth, surplus, technology all be without greed?


Greed cradles civilization forward.

The invisible hand of the market is the indulgent fan of greed. 


For if the hand that feeds is also the hand that needs to be fed, then greed is its sustenance and profit its supplement. 


The philosophy of greed is the philosophy of raw utilitarianism. 


The end justifies all means. 


And all means 
edifies the end.


The greater good for the majority is also the greater good for greed.


But the sleight of hand here is not on how the greater good is defined but how the "majority" is defined.


And the majority is often not a quantitative measure but a qualitative one.


It is a weighted majority not of numerical strength but of concentrated wealth.


Think of a pyramid with its apex of power and the thousands that slave and die building it stone 
by stone and you will see my point.


And my point is about a gilded point supported by a large base of unnecessary sacrifices.


As the base narrows up to a tip, the power concentrates and acts as it deems fit.


As the storm stirs from below, the froth of greed rises to take hold.


As the minimum wagers wage on for survival, the maximum profiteers celebrate its acquisition revival.


So the sly philosopher is
 eminently sly.


Not because he tells it as it is.


But because he tells it as it is not as if it is.


Now that's an art.


That's an unfathomably great delusion.


Imagine truth prostituted, virtue enslaved, and hope betrayed.


Greed takes the form of an angel of light to guide all partakers on a self-indulgent flight.


He will incentivize your conscience.


He will ease your angst.


He will be your companion till the
 end.


He will resist all resistance.


He will clear the way.


And you will experience unbridled latitude to act free from guilt, remorse and compassion.


Greed is the acid that dissolves all moral resolve.


So greed is indeed good, for the sly philosopher has spoken. 


His religion is redemption.


From a world of shame, poverty and rejection. 


You can find no better friend or counselor as the effervescent greed.


And if you have half the worldly mind, you would readily embrace greed.


For to do otherwise.


Is to be forever left behind.


Cheerz.