Paula Evans / Greed and stuff

I went to a lecture by the author of ‘The Spirit Level’ last week. While a number of  very relevant and important things were said about inequality of income,  my mind kept mulling over the question how much is enough? And how much of what? Dave had discussed this point and mentioned ‘twice what you have – no matter what you have’.

What is it that makes us want more and more and more. Is it greed? Is it because we have lost willpower? Or is it that we have lost perspective of our place in the world. We and our wants have become bigger than what other people need – bigger than what is right.

Does nature remind us of our place? Our insignificance? Our responsibilities to something larger than the ‘self’?

How much would I need to be happy? How much do I want? And why is there a gap between those things? Am I willing to close it, and why do I think of that as a sacrifice – despite not having quantified or identified what it is I would give up?

Is that motivator, whatever it is, actually what makes us successful or not at dieting, debt management, relationships, saving, recycling etc…?

More questions than answers.