Hedonism vs. Greed

All my goals and ambitions are the offspring of one selfish master goal: happiness. Does that make me greedy? Well, if it does, then there isn’t a non-greedy person in the whole world. The only difference between me and the critic of hedonism is that I’m consciously aware of my overarching desire for joy. Someone like Mohandas Gandhi may have sacrificed a lot for a higher cause, and may not have consciously acknowledged that he was doing it all in a calculated grab for personal pleasure. But like everyone else, even Gandhi and Mother Teresa were really acting out of the same desire to gain pleasure and avoid pain. Thus, a hedonist needn’t necessarily be greedy. In fact, I’m beginning to believe something like the exact opposite when it comes to conscious hedonism like mine.

The difference between a conscious hedonist like me, who openly acknowledges the lust for pleasure, versus the subconscious hedonist who justifies her pleasure-seeking behavior with any number of higher causes, the difference is a matter of efficiency. By admitting the reality of the situation, I’m freed to overtly take the most direct route to joy and ecstasy. Ideologies and principles won’t stand in my way because I understand that these too were originally created for the purpose of obtaining happiness and avoiding pain. Once these higher callings actually stand in the way of happiness, they’ve failed in their deeper true purpose. (With some ideologies, the happiness which was the original purpose was never my happiness to begin with, for example the protestant “work ethic” was created for the happiness of employers, not of the actual workers)

Greed for its own sake is rarely the most direct path to joy. Greed is created not by hedonism but actually by other ambitions, such as capitalist consumerist mentality or the “American Dream”. If people were honest with themselves about their true hedonistic motivations, they’d soon realize that a lot of the greedifying paths in life are happiness dead-ends. When I say that in general a consumer lifestyle fosters unhappiness, this statement is so far from being radical that it actually borders on being cliché. What’s radical is the further inference that if consumerism breeds unhappiness then therefore consumerism is bad. Possible reasons for consumerism are to support capitalism, to “keep up with the Jones’s”, to be fashionable, to provide for the family, because it’s Christmas, to be a “Good Citizen”, etc.; simple happiness is rarely the motive.

“So what! Do you think I feel good? Nobody feels good! After childhood, it’s a fact of life. So what? I don’t let it bother me. I don’t let it interfere with my job.” -Joe’s boss from Joe Vs. The Volcano

I’m not saying that a conscious hedonist is never greedy, just that 99% of the time this is the case. The only reason for a deliberate pleasuremonger like me to be greedy is when I consciously decide that that’s the best way to get my kicks. If so, then I’ll outgreed Ayn Rand, but it’s very rarely the case. In fact, I can’t remember any time in my life when greediness seemed like a good path to happiness after even the most cursory reflection.

I should emphasize that greediness and selfishness are not to be confused. Whereas selfishness is concern for one’s own self above others, greediness is a lust for more of something than one really needs to be happy. Whereas the latter is unhealthy almost by definition, the former is entirely healthy and can coexist just fine with the most saintly of actions. Even Jesus’ crucifixion was just a selfish attempt to get some kicks by saving mankind

FURTHER READING

Invitation to Hedonism
A Modern Version of Psalm 23
Kindness and Cruelty