2009 – 4th Grade 5th Place Winner.

Nicole Benz, California.

Greed and its Affect on Society

I think that greed has a bigger impact on society than giving. Greed can be both good and bad. The bad greed is wanting more than we need in life. Things that we really need are people who love and care for us, food, and a home. However, in our society, people lose sight of what they really need. Greedy people want more and more and more and don’t even care about the people they are hurting along the way. For example, in the book, The Giving Tree, the boy keeps taking from the tree without thinking about what he is doing to it. Another example of bad greed is Ebenezer Scrooge from the book, A Christmas Carol. In the beginning of the story, Scrooge is a wealthy banker who only thinks about himself. While Scrooge has more than enough money, he chose not to help people who desperately needed it.

There is also a part of greed that can be good. For example, it is greed that makes people do well in school, so they can get a good job, and make a lot of money. It is greed (or wanting more and more), that makes them want to keep improving themselves and make even more money. If we didn’t have this good greed, many people would not strive to be the best they can be.

I think greed has a bigger impact on society than giving because so much of our world has been changed due to greed. Many wars have started because people want more land, more money, and more power. This continues to happen even today. Can you believe that some people buy things that they don’t even have the money for? They want it, and they want it now, and they don’t even realize what they are doing! Maybe people do this to impress people or to feel important, I’m not sure. It is clear that greed is a part of human nature that is hard to overcome.

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