HI Chump,
I believe you are correct in saying what you do with it is a factor but i also believe this is misinterpreted. Say for example you are very wealthy and go out and buy a Ferrari a Porsche and a Range Rover, but you live in London, you travel everywhere by tube and have need for use of a car once a week is it greedy you having all those cars?.... I say no. You only live once and you are entitled to spend your money how you want without guilt, thats just my personal opinion but if you look at it from an economic point of view you have given business to Ferrari Porsche and Range Rover, by giving them business you are adding (in a small way) to increasing their profits, their profits get taxed which spreads your money to hopitals schools etc, you increase the value of their business which increases share price and makes money for their investors, you create demand for their services which in turn leads to the companies hiring workers thus creating more jobs. The effects go on.
I believe not spending money however is greedy because the money is not working for anyone, who are we to say what a person can and cant spend money on? (as in the above example) but if you make money and not put it to use you have no need for it and therefore that could possibly be argued as greedy. We live in a very privaliged society because people have money to go out and spend it on not only the basics in life but also the luxuries, if for example the human race changed its views on lusting for the better things in life or were not greedy (in the materialistic sense) and we no longer spent money on luxuries all the companies that provide this service would go out of business, jobs would be lost, less money would be paid in taxes and we would eventually be in a state of hyper inflation because there would be so much money in circulation chasing no goods.
I agree with you when you say what you do with your money is an aspect of greed but personally i believe only in the sense if you do nothing with it you are not putting it to use and that is greedy. So i suppose I would define greed as having the means to experience/purchase more than you actually want. But i believe it is very wrong to dictate what people are allowed to want.
So I think we are in agreement with each other if I have understood your post
Tom
