Greed

Ron Miller

1984

Published in:

Section 3 Newsletter, June 1984, No. 10

The human animal is a problem solver. All people hate to have problems so they act to solve them. People often create more problems for themselves in their attempt to solve a problem by incorrectly analyzing the problem, misinterpreting results of applying the problem solution (lack of correct feedback). Human behavioral patterns that develop by making such mistakes are usually called neurotic. Such patterns usually result from experiences early in life. This means that the behavioral patterns of many persons are based on evaluations of situations they were probably not old enough to properly understand. As they grow older, the initial situation is forgotten and the person responds automatically to a certain situation without regard to appropriateness. In our present society probably few people are free of such behavioral patterns. In our present society with its rapid evolution, behavioral patterns quickly become obsolete due to the shifting environment. We may laugh at the television character, Archie Bunker, who continuously responds to situations as though he were frozen in time several generations earlier, but he is little more than a reflection of much of our present society. When we refer to someone as behaving in a childish fashion, it is probably some neurotic pattern that we are referring to.

The human animal is too complex to say that a neurotic behavioral pattern such as greed can be caused by only one type of situation. The intense desire to acquire material goods endlessly with no thought to end use (greed) is a destructive, neurotic pattern. Probably the most extreme example is the miser who starves to death with thousands of dollars stuffed in his mattress. Such behavior must result from insecurity but in the end destroys its owner.

Greed is a typical neurotic pattern. In all such behavior several questions apply: (1) Is the behavior producing the desired result? (2) Is it harmful to anyone? (3) Are you consciously aware of what you are doing? (4) Are you in control of what you are doing? If you are having trouble with these questions, you probably are running on auto-pilot. Habit patterns are a necessary part of living. If we had to consciously consider every move we made, accomplishment of any task would become difficult. The question is: Does the habit pattern contribute to the intended objective or not? If it doesn't work, you're probably doing it wrong.

Technocracy offers a new social design for the operation of a high-energy civilization on the North American Continent. While no redesign of the human psyche was intended or planned, it should be obvious that a drastic change in the social environment is bound to affect human behavior.

Technocracy never promised a utopia where all would be happy. Happiness is a quality developed within an individual that usually results when the individual behaves in harmony with his environment. The Price System is an inappropriate social system for our present level of technological development and as such is a neurotic behavioral pattern. It is probably not too surprising that a neurotic social system produces neurotic behavior.

Some neurotic behavior is not terribly harmful, but it is never helpful. For instance, frustration with the immediate course of events in ones personal life is seldom solved by overeating. Greed is a pattern that has a tendency to destroy not only the persons so afflicted but usually all those around them.

Technocrats are often asked what Technocracy proposes to do about greed. The answer is--nothing. There will, even in a Technate, not be anything blocking a person from drawing the wrong conclusions from a situation. The clinical psychologists seem in little danger of losing their backlog although the introduction of a more harmonious social order should help.