AnimaAeterna

Does that include your generalization of generalizations? In any case, I understand greed doesn't necessarily follow power. In fact power is often attained through competence rather than greed, or some combination of competence and other factors. My generalization is aimed at much of politics and big businesses.

Well you make a valid point. If we assume everyone is equally greedy, then what we're trying to solve is human greed in general. But regardless if greed is more common with those in power or not, It's still a big thorn in our shoe. It could be indeed that the opportunities to satisfy greed are greater for those in power, but it could also be that greed finds success in the system and bears an advantage to acquire power. In fact it might be a complex combination of these and much more. Figuring that out is one of the first steps to solve the problem I think. Your second paragraph really put things in perspective though. I mean, most certainly there are good politicians. Could the problem lie with those in power who have a large influence in politics? Well, It's not like there's nothing we can do. We could have moaned about a wide range of things we've managed to solve or improve over the years. We can extend the estimated span of existence for humanity. We are indeed, to a great extent, what we are born with. But we are also what we are exposed to. And we are also what we choose to be. It's a combination of these, at different levels. We can adapt, and in fact that is probably the most important feature of our species.

It seems those in power tend to be greedy and not very inclined toward science. I often wonder if this is simply human nature. It seems that in order to attain a position of power you require certain inclinations and mindsets that tend to include a certain level of greed, among other things. I suspect It's far more complicated. Positions of power often involve stepping on eggshells and trying to please several parties (or at least not offending some parties). But I also feel a lot of it is related to greed and lack of empathy for other people. If this trend continues, and corruption along with it, where are we heading? How can we solve this problem? I feel like this topic would easily unravel into several subtopics but still I could discuss this for days. There's so much I'd like to understand about why things are this way, and what we can do about it. It feels like, in our pursuit of knowledge and mastering nature, human nature is one of the things we understand and can adapt to the least.