Greed Meets Envy

Tired of hearing about 'greed' from liberals? Change the subject to 'envy'.  Envy, unlike greed, is always personally and societally destructive, argues attorney David McGinley, and the Left owns and thrives on envy!

Covetousness (or envy), meaning the possession of a strong desire for what another has, does not get the attention that its close relation "greed" gets. ... Why? Greed is not always destructive, while envy is. Greed is the desire to have more and, depending how that desire is acted upon, can be beneficial or detrimental. The profit motive has made the United States the most prosperous nation in history; but, conversely, the abuse of that motive was greatly responsible for the September 2008 financial collapse. When envy, on the other hand, is acted upon, there is no good, only bad. At its worst, it leads to mass theft and murder.

The envious who are so quick to lament the greed of others generally focus only on one type of greed — the love of money. However, greed is not limited to money; it manifests in many currencies, including the desire for power. While the love of money can affect the lives of others, its main objective is wealth-accumulation. Material gain is the goal, and, of course, that gain can be at the expense of others, but not always. But the desire for power is always at the expense of others because the goal is to have control over others. There is a big difference between wanting to spend one's own money and seeking the authority to tell others how they should spend theirs.

Real trouble begins when those who crave power gain it by manipulating resentments. It is where greed meets envy — the structural foundation of the political left.

The left relies on blame and division to accumulate its power. However, without envy, the left could never attain such power in the first place. Those who do not covet the things of their neighbors never form the resentment upon which the left depends. They cannot be manipulated into turning against their neighbors and inevitably against themselves.