To the Editor:
Who are the most greedy people in this world? First let us define what we mean by the word GREED. The dictionary says it is excessive desire for wealth. What does excessive mean? It means that your uncontrolled desire for wealth will lead to the use of unethical means to obtain personal wealth; i.e., take advantage of your employees and friends. This would involve the use of unethical business practices to build personal wealth including cheating and lying regardless of its effect on other individuals or the community at large. These persons covet wealth be it material possessions, money, power or control. They are not leaders but are controllers that work to dominate the world around them. They will try to create monopolies. This is often referred to as classical greed.
But a person who builds a successful business using his personal intelligence and a good work ethic and in doing so produces jobs for others, donates to worthy causes, treats his employees fairly, helps his community, etc., is not in essence greedy. This is the proper use of the free enterprise system. These persons are usually humble and do not hold themselves above others. They are an asset to the public and admired and respected by them. So wealth alone is not a sign of greed. It is how we obtained it and how we use it that is the determining factor. We see many wealthy wholesome people in the Bible.
But what other forms of greed are there that are just as detrimental? What is just as bad and detrimental to society in the long run as the unethical excessive desire for wealth? At least the individual who ruthlessly builds wealth still is usually a hard worker and often works long hours on schemes, many times unethical, to gain more personal wealth. He works. There is a more devious form of deeply hidden greed. It is wanting everything you desire without working for it. It is called SOCIALISM. The socialists are by their very nature internally greedy. They try to hide their personal greed by saying they want everyone to have free this or that such as free health care, free food, free transportation, free housing and the list goes on. They don’t want to work but they want the fruits of labor. In short they covet what they have not worked for but what others have worked for. This is the most insidious form of greed and always leads to disastrous results with Venezuela being a present day example. Even though socialists can see from history that this scheme always fails, they are so blinded by their own unrealistic idealistic greedy desires and are presented such distortions by the media and educational institutions they cannot see the truth set before them. Many of them do not have the desire to work. They want a life without any struggles which is not realistic in a fallen evil and devious world made up of humans. They want complete protection and everything as they want it — free. They are truly personally/internally greedy. This movement is also supported by the so called PROGRESSIVES, a very idealistic aggressive group. If followed to its final conclusion, this whole system falls apart leaving a void that is usually filled by a dictatorial government where freedom is extinguished. Welcome to communism with the progressives in control. It will end up being a New World Order.

J. Ronald Winter
Elizabethton