Why greed is bad?

Answer 1

Greed is bad because it undermines society, eventually destroying it. Society, in this case, is all life, human or otherwise. When you are greedy, i.e. taking more than you need or hoarding your supplies, you prohibit your brothers from having what they need. If your brother is unable to satisfy his physical and mental needs, he suffers. Ecosystems really are only as strong as the weakest link. When one member of society suffers, he places a strain on the rest of society (read: disease, poor productivity, over-production causing poor health and fatigue, nominal education, increased propensity to breed, unattractive, and monetary drain), which unfairly taxes everyone (because of your greed).

To try and compensate for your hoarding of a resource, people then overproduce, mine, et cetera, which causes an influx in the value of the commodity. The value, initially high, drops because people force abundance on this thing. The overpopulation either leaches from the environment (over-farming) or exhausts a natural resource (trees, copper), which strains environmental and interpersonal relationships.

As a relevant example, companies such as DeBeers hoard diamonds, which are not all that rare, especially for the price. This extremely tight, profit driven tendency to restrict the flow of diamonds into the commercial economy drives the prices of the rocks up. People are regrettably willing to pay the extreme price for the diamonds because they are "rare." In turn, rogue miners find ways to black market diamonds (blood diamonds, but as a great cost to the quality of human life (death). Very simply put, if companies were not so greedy, people would not be so dead.

If you, instead of being greedy and taking more than you need, share with your brother, you each meet your basic needs. Chances are he has a surplus of something you need, and when you both share, you both benefit (prisoners dilemma, behavioral economics). When people's basic physical needs are met, they are able to pursue higher needs such as education and spirituality/philosophy (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs), which improves a society's abilities to function. Moreover, since people policies of self control and regulation, they do not over-burden the plants, animals, soil, water, et cetera, leading to a healthier planet and people.

People who practice greed hurt everyone, especially their progeny, as greed is horribly short-sighted.

Another Point:

Greed is also bad because it stems from, and strengthens, the mistaken belief that your personal value and identity relate to the things (objects, procedures, people) you possess and control, instead of Who You Are and What You Do. It promotes the idea the the little 'me' that wanders around in this temporary shell is my True Self, and undermines the 'I'; the True Relationship and Living Identity with all that is, and thereby supports, strengthens and promotes the Fear that is born of loss and separation from the One.

"I" and "you" are but the lattices in the niches of a lamp, through which the One Light shines. (Mahmud Shabistari)

Answer 2

A greedy person is only thinking of themselves and doesn’t care what happens to others. It is a selfish destructive type of thinking.