[True2marie]

DEFINITION OF GREED: An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.

I do not believe wanting to help another person or save the earth is an offshoot of greed. Those are altruistic characteristics. Greedy people are those who want more than their share and as a result don't mind hurting someone else to get it.

[Grin]

Why must greed be limited to such?

It doesn't need to be, I just thought that objectively, greed was about material possession. Even if someone was to be greedy for power, the material possession in that case would be whoever that one wanted power over.

[Kureo]

No, greed alone is purely evil.

Greed as with anything aren't completely negative, as everything exists for its counterpart. Though its is not true what you stated in the opening post, as greed and pride are two different things. Greed itself isn't to feel that you've accomplished something, that is pride. Greed is the feeling that you want to obtain something which you lack, and to the extent that it far over goes the amount which you need of it. We often talk about money or power when we discuss greed, and for good reason. As it is the simplest thing to discuss it with. The very definition of the word, "Greed" says the following:

Intense and selfish desire for something, esp. wealth, power, or food.

Greed itself is the negative part of a coin, the dark side of the same moon. ( Call it whatever you deem it worthy off ) Though it is more negative than positive, even if it carries some positive sides to it. You said that greed is good because it makes humans desire something, and work to achieve what one desires. Though that is not greed, at least not alone. The strive to gain something is carried by your "will" and "pride". The will to obtain what one lacks, and the pride one feels after achieving that thing. Greed is the start, the feeling that we want to achieve something, that is all. Though that is only a partial meaning of the word, the rest is the following:

Greed is to obtain a certain thing which one desires, and to obtain that thing only for yourself.

Greed is to desire something, to keep something for yourself. To never share it with anyone, to feel superior of others and to make others "worse" in some way. Greed is the human desire and illusion of superiority. Greed is the essence of never helping anyone, never doing anything, never achieve anything as long as it doesn't pay out for oneself. Itself has no way to be positive, it has no way to be good. Its purely evil, but its existence is not solely negative.

There are a lot of people who are doing wonderful things, quietly, with no motive of greed, or hostility toward other people, or delusions of superiority.

Charles Kuralt

[Fallen]

DEFINITION OF GREED: An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.

Definitions aren't limited to dictionary definitions.

Greedy people are those who want more than their share and as a result don't mind hurting someone else to get it.

Sounds more like narcissism to me.

[Kureo]

Sounds more like narcissism to me.

Narcissism means that a person only cares about himself/herself. Greed on another hand is to want something for yourself, and never let anyone else have it.

[Fallen]

Narcissism means that a person only cares about himself/herself. Greed on another hand is to want something for yourself, and never let anyone else have it.

Hand in hand.

[Kureo]

Hand in hand.

Not really. Example time:

Greed is when you would help someone in need, but only if it didn't cost you anything.

Narcissism is when you wouldn't even bother to look at someone who is in need.

[TPhoenix]

The original post sort of opened up my mind about greed. To me, greed is the behavior of people that are strictly after a personal gain such as money and power. I didn't stop to think that greed could be seen in a scenario where someone is trying to help another for the satisfaction of feeling good about it or developing a reputation from it. But still, you have to believe that greed is primarily a bad thing when you compare things like the poor to the rich and the government to the people.

[Roosta]

I consider that definition of greed to fall more along the lines of what I consider "ambition" to be, which ambition too, can be bad depending on circumstance.