Is greed so rampant in America because business is the only discipline that doesn't threaten religion somehow?

Answer 1

That's a big, big, big , big question. I can't begin to answer it fully. I beleive that many christian religions in the USA are business ventures and religion is their product. Jews and business is a natural match (stemming from the early middle ages) Muslims often separate business from religion, I cannot go a step further at this point, but i will consider this question for a long time

Answer 2

Not sure I would agree with your premise that "business is the only discipline that doesn't threaten religion somehow"...I think you could argue epistemologically that business is as much an idol and 'religious' pursuit as art, medicine, and secular philosophy.

That being said, I would suggest that greed is rampant in America for several reasons:

1) Greed resides in the human heart

The lust for more is a common denominator in the fallen human heart. The desire to have what one does not have is not restricted to America, to the wealthy, to the advantaged, or their corollaries.

2) Greed is rewarded in a capitalist economy

This is NOT stated as an advocacy for socialism, a critique or criticism of capitalism or any such thing. It is simply an objective summary of what makes capitalism work. Michael Douglas' skewed and oblique soliloquy in the Oliver Stone movie "Wall Street", no matter what you think of his character or the movie, sums up this aspect of capitalist motivation quite well.

3) Greed is more visibly exposed in wealthy cultures

The innate desire to possess is simply more enabled where the average upper-middle class has more purchasing ability. The desire is matched by potential.

Just my 0.02. Your mileage may vary.

Best to you.

Answer 3

business threatens religion because people willingly spend their time at work rather than at their own life. I wouldn't go so far as saying a working man "sells his soul to his corporation" but this is a common phrase.

On the plus side I think that business is the only world-thing that is not out to inflict pain on people. Sure they might endanger the environment, but no other entity wants consumers as much as businesses. Religions want consumers, but also want people to not consume other religions. With businesses, a soda company doesn't care if you also eat bread, and in fact it creates a good harmony if you do both. Similarily, a car manufacturer wants you to also be insured, because they go hand in hand. So, businesses really do promote a harmony in society.

However on the down side, they do promote consumerism. Perhaps the only thing that businesses DON'T want you to do is not consume, which in a sense is against strict religious ideas of being independently happy, such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

So all in all, businesses are greedy for consumers just as religion is greedy for believers. The only solution in my eyes is moderation. Consume what you need and limit what you want, believe what makes you happy, and oh yeah, above all else, try not to kill anybody.

Answer 4

at a similar time as maximum educational disciplines threaten faith, i could say that one and all sorts of technological know-how (that may study in public colleges) have the main ability. As for why, this is in general because of the fact the belief of God grew to become into initially meant to make up for a loss of know-how of the organic international, which technological know-how is now doing okay and with lots information backing its theories. As technological know-how replaces God, first in the path of the fields of biology (evolution; how people got here to be) and later into astrophysics (how grew to become into the universe created?), the will of God is lessened. If there is ever a time that technological know-how can clarify each and every thing, then it is whilst God turns into out of date as a writer. i think of philosophy is an in depth 2d in the race, nevertheless, because of the fact it has an emphasis on logical theory and comprises the thinking of each and every thing.

Answer 5

Religion in general and Christianity in particular is the biggest, greediest business in the world. If you don't believe that go to the Vatican and see all the opulence. And Christianity has been around a lot longer than America.

Answer 6

Greed is a default setting of the human mind, and does not rely on business or religion.

Answer 7

In America big business IS religion and vice versa.

Greed is our Pavlovian re-action to big business advertisement AND religious endoctrination.

The following is a oft-quoted religious text "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly".

Answer 8

In America religion is business hell everything is business even recreational activities i.e.professional sports,art, entertainment. Its god damn ridiculous if you ask me.

Answer 9

That's a scary hypothesis, never thought of it quite like that, thanks.