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Greed and the polis
Rereading some Greek histories [from the fantastic Landmark series], I was struck by an amazing example of the destruction caused by greed. 2400 years ago, Corinth and Athens became embroiled in a conflict that played a large role in the diminishment of their respective states and the entire Greek civilization.
The problem exploded because a bunch of people in Corinth were very concerned about the Athenian’s greedy desire for control – to expand their government reach over more and more of life. On the opposite side, the big-government Athenians worried that the greedy libertarians in Corinth would not do what was best for all.
In the margin of my book, I scribbled: “Greed drives much political division. It’s not our own gluttony that divides as much as our fear of others’ appetite. Blind to my own rapacious gluttony, I am nonetheless wildly aware of yours. The outcomes of unchecked greed are deadly and hellacious. There is a reason Solomon & Hezekiah used ‘Sheol’ (the place of the dead) and ‘Abaddon’ (Hell) to describe greediness.”
And the problem didn’t end with the Peloponnesian War. Our own country is living out a very similar scenario. The Greeks reveal that the answer to the problem isn’t to defeat those who think differently. The answer is to work together in battling greed in all its forms.
God bless,
Wayne