RESEARCH has shown that education starts at home. Parents do give children a head start.

We weren’t born with greed but slowly, we tend to accept standards devoid of good values. Maybe we start with wanting a toy someone else has. If we don’t get it, we don’t care if the world turns upside down. As we grow older, it is about money, luxury, power, etc. With this comes corruption, mismanagement and misuse of power. Wealth is like seawater; the more we drink, the thirstier we become.

We know greed’s cousin, the “narcissistic personality disorder”, or ego. It is said that without greed, we would still be living in caves. 

Look at how life went on before Covid-19. Humans had to work hard to live or compete with others for money, power and status. Even rats cannot keep up with the “rat race” – the need to build bigger, higher and longer. 

Entrepreneurial spirit is good and results in significant economic advancement, but in some cases, it creates social instability. Greed and ambition are different but when the latter is spiced up with ego, it transforms into the former. We celebrate ventures but not vultures. True, greed motivates and moves markets.  

It is okay to be greedy in achieving realistic goals. But being greedy or obsessed over money is something else. Even the Lehman brothers had humble beginnings, selling dry goods to the cotton trade.

Some societies are better at spending than others, raking up trillions of dollars in debt. Worse still, greed and ego leads to the lack of concern for others, including its citizens, and, of course, the environment. 

What happened to ethics and values? Are we becoming more self-centered and individualistic? Sincerity, truthfulness and decorum has gone out the window. 
 
What is the shape of our culture, including corporations now? Government and organisational failures are apparent, with conflicts between manifestos and stated values and practices of its leaders. We even have a government without a manifesto. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), on the other hand, does not automatically qualify one to be generous.

Now, in difficult times, we hear companies shouting for help from the government to reduce their costs. But during good times, did they not avoid paying taxes, increase prices at the slightest movement of oil price, suppress wages, were slow to move towards automation and others? 

Can we bring back honesty, sincerity, self-esteem and self-worth? 

So, do we still believe greed and ego starts from home? Or, do we need to uncover the unconscious sources from childhood setbacks that one experiences that makes one behave in such a manner. 

When we leave this world, will greed and ego follow us? 

We have a choice. This movement control order (MCO) presents for us the opportunity to step back and re-evaluate available options and transform Mother Earth to be a more beautiful place to live in. She is having a much-needed break now. Do we want her to suffer again because of our greed and ego? Let us tame both and remain in the driver’s seat.

This article may not be able to commit and change the society we live concerning people’s excesses, but hopefully, Covid-19 can. 

By the way, I have not touched on power and arrogance.

What say you? – April 14, 2020.

* Saleh Mohammed reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.