LETTER | Can Covid-19 tame greed and ego?

LETTER | Research shows 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. We started with wanting a toy someone 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 it comes corruption, mismanagement and misuse of power. Wealth is like sea-water, 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 very hard in order to live or compete with others for money, power, status. Even rats cannot keep up with the "rat race" - the need to build bigger, higher and longer.

An entrepreneurial spirit is good, resulting in significant economic advancement but in some cases creates social instability. Greed and ambition are different but when the latter is spiced up with ego it transforms into the former. We celebrate venture but not vulture. True, greed motivates and moves the market.

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

Some societies are better at spending than others raking up trillions of dollars in debts. Worst still, others cannot be better in any spheres. The greed and ego seem to have forgotten the concern for others including its citizens and of course, the environment.

What happened to ethics and values? Are we becoming more self-centred and individualistic? Sincerity, truthfulness and decorum have gone out through the window.

What is the shape of our culture including the corporates 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 during 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, slow in moving towards automation, and what else.

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

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

When we leave this world would greed and ego follow us?

We have a choice. The opportunity this movement control order (MCO) presents is for us 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 and 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 societies we live in on their excesses but hopefully, Covid-19 can.

By the way, I have not touched power and arrogance…

What say you?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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