"From the first day to this, sheer greed was the driving spirit of civilization"

Friedrich Engels asserts that greed has been the foundational force in the development of civilization, suggesting that the structures, values, and institutions that define societies have consistently been motivated by a desire for acquisition and accumulation. When looking at the course of human history, Engels’s perspective frames the growth of civilization not as the result of purely noble ambitions—such as collective progress, enlightenment, or moral development—but as a process fundamentally rooted in selfishness and the pursuit of material gain.

The emergence of property, social hierarchies, and organized states aligns with Engels’s critique. As early human societies shifted from communal tribal living to more stratified systems—with clear distinctions between those who have and those who do not—the seeds of greed took root and began to shape every subsequent advancement. The establishment of private property marked a watershed moment, setting society on a path where accumulation became a virtue and greed an accepted, even necessary, aspect of progress.

Engels’s reflection extends to economic systems. Feudalism, mercantilism, capitalism—each successive phase of economic development sharpened and deepened society’s relationship with greed. Competition, exploitation, and class division became not accidental byproducts, but essential drivers. In capitalist societies, especially, the relentless quest for profit fuels innovation, expansion, and consumption, but also entrenches exploitation, inequality, and alienation. Greed becomes institutionalized, embedded in the logic governing markets, law, and culture.

Yet, Engels is not only diagnosing economic arrangements. His assertion encompasses all of civilization’s expressions: art, politics, religion, and even philosophy, each often co-opted by those seeking power, status, or wealth. Thus, the “sheer greed” he describes is not a peripheral characteristic but the engine at the heart of civilization’s machinery, calling into question the ethical and moral claims of progress, and inviting a re-examination of the values that have shaped our collective journey.