Uncontrollable temptation? - The Fifth Of the Seven Deadly Sins (VI): Greed

The key to greed is "excess."

The desire for welfare and material wealth is not a problem in itself.

There is already evidence that greed is the root cause of all fraud, corruption and theft. Although there have been enough warnings about the antisocial effects of greed on society since the invention of money, and there have been enough warnings about the antisocial effects of greed on society, there are still many people who believe that greed is only a strong will, and this strong will is an important factor in economic prosperity.

The question is: Does asking too much mean depriving others of their share? Or did it actually cause harm to others?

So, are people born greedy? Or do you have to learn to be greedy over time?

The reward circuits in our brains determine that we always tend to choose more. The same is true of many living things, and experiments with animals have shown that they are more interested in more than less. Theofc portion of the front of the human brain has become a specialized part of the human response to money, and is equally more inclined to choose more rather than less. This may be due to the fact that our ancestors improved their survival prospects by encouraging the accumulation of surplus resources. There is no doubt that those whose ancestors had stored spare grain were more likely to survive than those who did not have reserves, and could successfully pass on their genes. But this description of greed is somewhat simplistic, and imagine, if our ancestors had been acting in an overly greedy way, it would have been inconceivable for humans, a creature that was highly dependent on cooperation. Because if the accumulated surplus is always at the expense of others, then others will eventually get tired of this selfish behavior, and then will take measures to punish it, which will make it more difficult for them to survive, and they will not be able to inherit their genes. So the best way is to work with people to build and maintain excess resources together, to find a balance between the desire for more and being isolated by society.

Man is not born greedy. For the brain, fairness and greed are controlled by different regions. There is an "ultimatum" game, you can make a reference: the game is very simple, assuming that the two people share 100 yuan, A makes a decision, B either accepts, both get the proportion set by A to get their share of the money, or do not accept, both of them can not get a penny. If people are greedy, then it should be that no matter how unfair the proportion set by A is, B will accept it, after all, no matter how little it is, it is white, right? But the truth is just the opposite, when B feels unfair, he often prefers to sacrifice his own interests rather than let the other party benefit.

Another dimension of fairness and greed is that the richer you seem to be, the more it seems to affect people's greedy tendencies. Generally speaking, the poorer people are and the fewer resources they have, the more greedy they should be, but the opposite is true. The richer you are, the more you feel protected and isolated from social or legal consequences, while the poorer you are, the more you have to consider social and legal consequences and the easier it is to follow the rules. This phenomenon can also be reflected in the proportion of traffic violations driven by rich and poor groups at intersections.

Neurological research clearly shows that the unfair distribution of wealth activates the relevant areas of the brain involved when people feel uncomfortable and disgusted, prompting people to want to see antisocial behavior punished, and problems arise if greedy deception is profitable again and again with impunity. And by establishing a fair social order, so that these people are duly punished, the deception of the greedy will think twice.