Are there any cultures on earth that consider coveting to be a good thing? Do they believe that by being greedy over their neighbor's material, that they are in fact showing appreciation toward the material's owner?
I remember seeing something about this in multiple college classes, but I cannot remember or find the names of these cultures. Any help guys?
Are there any cultures on earth that consider coveting to be a good thing? Do they believe that by being greedy over their neighbor's material, that they are in fact showing appreciation toward the material's owner?
You will find the phenomenon you describe in any pimp magic cards/decks thread. So...MTG culture?
Are there any cultures on earth that consider coveting to be a good thing? Do they believe that by being greedy over their neighbor's material, that they are in fact showing appreciation toward the material's owner?
I remember seeing something about this in multiple college classes, but I cannot remember or find the names of these cultures. Any help guys?
Lol. Why look to some strange culture that you read about in your college class? Our own culture is a shining example of the kind of phenomenon you are talking about. Subjectively, "coveting" is the very foundation of our capitalist framework - it's pretty much what drives the economy.
Covet, as in, want something somebody else owns? I can't think of any. That sort of thing is _detrimental_ to a society, so I can't see a society that actually espouses it.
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"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
Covet, as in, want something somebody else owns? I can't think of any. That sort of thing is _detrimental_ to a society, so I can't see a society that actually espouses it.
As someone who draw's and plays guitar id sooner covet someones abillities in one of those areas rather than a spesific item owned by a person.
We're a mass producing society these days and the word Unique is not very relevant. I wish I could afford Fetch Lands but as a student I cant, I do not however Covet them.
We prey on the covetous nature of man in order to sell people tons of **** they don't really need. It is a very powerful tool. I'd go out on a limb and say that at least half of the new products sold in America are a direct result of the purchasers neighbor buying a similar item just days or weeks earlier.
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Thanks to Xenphire @ Inkfox for the amazing new sig
“Thus strangely are our souls constructed, and by slight ligaments
are we bound to prosperity and ruin.”
― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Covet, as in, want something somebody else owns? I can't think of any. That sort of thing is _detrimental_ to a society, so I can't see a society that actually espouses it.
Do you live in America, lol? The whole car industry works on the fact that people want that car their bosses have. A person's car is a status symbol in this country now. You know how bad I want your nice Lotus? Pretty damn bad.
Your house? I'd love to live in it. Even things like someone's retirement plan, if I had a good one like yours I'd be set. One could say I covet a richer lifestyle, and I wouldn't say you were wrong.
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"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
Covet, as in, want something somebody else owns? I can't think of any. That sort of thing is _detrimental_ to a society, so I can't see a society that actually espouses it.
Avarice and ambition are two points of classical texts and something of which the Founders of the US were paranoid of. The sin that most often is espoused to be good is pride by Americans and especially seen in Tocqueville. So therefore, I would argue that American's sin is not greed but rather pride by "keeping up with the Joneses."
Ironically, the Amish do indeed keep up with the Joneses by showing "how pious they are" by being the most austere and cheap. So it is human nature, but it can be inverted. Even some classical Chinese texts that support the thrift of the Sage Kings were meant to have people compete in later dynasties for thrift but was to no avail.
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Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
Do you live in America, lol? The whole car industry works on the fact that people want that car their bosses have. A person's car is a status symbol in this country now. You know how bad I want your nice Lotus? Pretty damn bad.
Your house? I'd love to live in it. Even things like someone's retirement plan, if I had a good one like yours I'd be set. One could say I covet a richer lifestyle, and I wouldn't say you were wrong.
I know these things exist.
The thing is I define covet as not merely "wanting what someone else has" (because by that definition, if I want to eat, I covet McDonalds merchandise) but "wanting what someone else has without regards for their rights" (which is willing to take a guys hamburger away from him).
Do americans consider the latter a good thing? I'd like to think that while people engage in this activity that it isn't something anyone considers a good thing, more like an excuse to do bad things.
There is also a slight difference between envy and covet, envy being "not content with what you have in comparison to someone else". "keeping up with joneses" is envy, not covetousness. Being covetous is specifically wanting what that person owns and willing to take from them. The method of acquisition is different -- an envious person may be satisfied with acquiring X even from another source, not necessarily from the person who has the same thing. An envious person wants an iPad that the Joneses have, but not necessarily the _that_ specific iPad. A covetous person, on the other hand, would want that specific iPad to the exclusion of other iPads. You covet another man's wife, but not envy a man's wife.
Exactly what Mondu is saying. I understand the greed culture, that's not a problem, and is seen everywhere. It's about coveting and desiring a certain person's object. Are there any places where wanting a specific person's item gives praise to the original owner?
There is a difference between wanting what your neighbor has and using your desires as a motivation for success. To the untrained they look similar, but there is a big difference in saying I want a hot wife like Jon's and I want Jon's hot wife.
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
Coveting is coveting. It doesn't necessarily equal stealing imho. The lines get very blurry. Think about a few high-up corporate folks accruing obscene amounts of wealth on the backs of the low income bracket... is that covetous?
I remember seeing something about this in multiple college classes, but I cannot remember or find the names of these cultures. Any help guys?
You envy your experienced coworkers who get payed more, so you work harder to try and reach there level (bad example, but it still shows a point)
540 Peasant cube- Gold EditionSomething SpicyYou will find the phenomenon you describe in any pimp magic cards/decks thread. So...MTG culture?
Lol. Why look to some strange culture that you read about in your college class? Our own culture is a shining example of the kind of phenomenon you are talking about. Subjectively, "coveting" is the very foundation of our capitalist framework - it's pretty much what drives the economy.
BRG Loam Control (Assault - Loam) BRG
W Mono White Control (Martyr - Proc) W
Wouldn't it also follow there was a time when "coveting" was not?
And for some reason, it became taboo because of all the bad societal things it caused?
Covet, as in, want something somebody else owns? I can't think of any. That sort of thing is _detrimental_ to a society, so I can't see a society that actually espouses it.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
What is money?
We're a mass producing society these days and the word Unique is not very relevant. I wish I could afford Fetch Lands but as a student I cant, I do not however Covet them.
Nezumi_Myr
+1 to everyone above me basically.
We bank our capitalism on it.
We prey on the covetous nature of man in order to sell people tons of **** they don't really need. It is a very powerful tool. I'd go out on a limb and say that at least half of the new products sold in America are a direct result of the purchasers neighbor buying a similar item just days or weeks earlier.
Thanks to Xenphire @ Inkfox for the amazing new sig
“Thus strangely are our souls constructed, and by slight ligaments
are we bound to prosperity and ruin.”
― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Do you live in America, lol? The whole car industry works on the fact that people want that car their bosses have. A person's car is a status symbol in this country now. You know how bad I want your nice Lotus? Pretty damn bad.
Your house? I'd love to live in it. Even things like someone's retirement plan, if I had a good one like yours I'd be set. One could say I covet a richer lifestyle, and I wouldn't say you were wrong.
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
Avarice and ambition are two points of classical texts and something of which the Founders of the US were paranoid of. The sin that most often is espoused to be good is pride by Americans and especially seen in Tocqueville. So therefore, I would argue that American's sin is not greed but rather pride by "keeping up with the Joneses."
Ironically, the Amish do indeed keep up with the Joneses by showing "how pious they are" by being the most austere and cheap. So it is human nature, but it can be inverted. Even some classical Chinese texts that support the thrift of the Sage Kings were meant to have people compete in later dynasties for thrift but was to no avail.
Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
The thing is I define covet as not merely "wanting what someone else has" (because by that definition, if I want to eat, I covet McDonalds merchandise) but "wanting what someone else has without regards for their rights" (which is willing to take a guys hamburger away from him).
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/covet
Do americans consider the latter a good thing? I'd like to think that while people engage in this activity that it isn't something anyone considers a good thing, more like an excuse to do bad things.
There is also a slight difference between envy and covet, envy being "not content with what you have in comparison to someone else". "keeping up with joneses" is envy, not covetousness. Being covetous is specifically wanting what that person owns and willing to take from them. The method of acquisition is different -- an envious person may be satisfied with acquiring X even from another source, not necessarily from the person who has the same thing. An envious person wants an iPad that the Joneses have, but not necessarily the _that_ specific iPad. A covetous person, on the other hand, would want that specific iPad to the exclusion of other iPads. You covet another man's wife, but not envy a man's wife.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn