---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Greed is merely a species of…"
description: "\"Greed is merely a species of nearsightedness.\" — Henry Ford"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/henry-ford-492_greed_greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsighted_1040095.png"
---

#  Greed is merely a species of nearsightedness.

![“Greed is merely a species of nearsightedness.” quote by Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/henry-ford-492_greed_greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsighted_1040095.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/henry-ford-492_greed_greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsighted_1040095.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/henry-ford-492_greed_greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsighted_1040095.png)

> “Greed is merely a species of nearsightedness.”

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Greed is described as short‑sightedness, implying it harms long‑term success.

**In simple terms:** Greed equals short‑sightedness.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize long‑term vision over immediate gain.

Themes

greed short‑sightedness business ethics

Mood

pragmatic reflective

Type

business ethical

When to use this quote

- investment decisions
- corporate strategy
- personal finance

Key Concepts

economics psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How to balance short‑term needs with long‑term goals?
- When is ambition justified?

A Different Perspective

Short‑term gains can be necessary sometimes.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/)

## Related quotes

> ['Humanity' is a name not merely for a species but also for a quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-species-but-also-for-a-quality/)

[Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/)

> [Greatness and nearsightedness are incompatible. Meaningful achievement depends on lifting one's sights and pushing toward the horizon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/greatness-and-nearsightedness-are-incompatible-meaningful-achievement/)

[Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/)

> [But I have tried to go over it very carefully, not merely what the evidence is, but with psychoanalysts and psychologists, and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-herbert-donald/but-i-have-tried-to-go-over-it-very-carefully-not-merely-what-the/)

[David Herbert Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-herbert-donald/)

> [It is not enough merely to win; others must lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-not-enough-merely-to-win-others-must-lose/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Agrarian reform should not merely subdivide misery, it must raise living standards. Ownership raises the farmer from his, but productivity will keep him on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/agrarian-reform-should-not-merely-subdivide-misery-it-must-raise/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The 1898 annexation of the Hawaiian Islands merely formally recognized what had long been American domination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/the-1898-annexation-of-the-hawaiian-islands-merely-formally/)

[Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/)

> [For children, diversity needs to be real and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/for-children-diversity-needs-to-be-real-and-not-merely-relegated-to/)

[John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/)

> [Would you rather have butter or guns? Preparedness makes us powerful. Butter merely makes us fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goering/would-you-rather-have-butter-or-guns-preparedness-makes-us-powerful/)

[Hermann Goering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goering/)

> [Every man must have the right fearlessly to think independently and express his opinion about what he knows, what he has personally thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/every-man-must-have-the-right-fearlessly-to-think-independently-and/)

[Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/)

> [The whole of a human being is merely a vertebra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenz-oken/the-whole-of-a-human-being-is-merely-a-vertebra/)

[Lorenz Oken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenz-oken/)

> [Most men, when they think they are thinking, are merely rearranging their prejudices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knute-rockne/most-men-when-they-think-they-are-thinking-are-merely-rearranging/)

[Knute Rockne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knute-rockne/)

> [Love is merely a madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-merely-a-madness/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [If you are in love with someone, a kiss is merely a way of expressing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-cassandra/if-you-are-in-love-with-someone-a-kiss-is-merely-a-way-of-expressing/)

[Regina Cassandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-cassandra/)

> [Pro-lifers have long been castigated for bringing private values into the public square. But actually it is the pro-abortion position that is based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/pro-lifers-have-long-been-castigated-for-bringing-private-values-into/)

[Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/)

> [I have to declare in all candor that no one interested in being published in our time can afford to be so naive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/i-have-to-declare-in-all-candor-that-no-one-interested-in-being/)

[Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/)

## More by Henry Ford

> [Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/enthusiasm-is-the-yeast-that-makes-your-hopes-shine-to-the-stars/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [These men of many nations must be taught American ways, the English language, and the right way to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/these-men-of-many-nations-must-be-taught-american-ways-the-english/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [People are as happy as they choose to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/people-are-as-happy-as-they-choose-to-be/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [Those who stop marketing to save money are like those who stop a clock to save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/those-who-stop-marketing-to-save-money-are-like-those-who-stop-a/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/quality-means-doing-it-right-when-no-one-is-looking/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [A man's college and university degrees mean nothing to me until I see what he is able to do with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/a-man-s-college-and-university-degrees-mean-nothing-to-me-until-i-see/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [Don't find the fault, find the remedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/don-t-find-the-fault-find-the-remedy/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [A customer votes everyday with his dollar. Our job is make sure he votes for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/a-customer-votes-everyday-with-his-dollar-our-job-is-make-sure-he/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [Our clothing, our food, our household furnishings - all could be much simpler than they now are and at the same time be better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/our-clothing-our-food-our-household-furnishings-all-could-be-much/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [The time is coming when man will be able to determine the length of his lifespan by controlling his diet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/the-time-is-coming-when-man-will-be-able-to-determine-the-length-of/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do. It's simple, fantasize, rehearse, then go out into the world and DO IT!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/you-can-t-build-a-reputation-on-what-you-re-going-to-do-it-s-simple/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [There is no man living that can not do more than he thinks he can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/there-is-no-man-living-that-can-not-do-more-than-he-thinks-he-can/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [Without doubt, Thomas Edison is my greatest contemporary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/without-doubt-thomas-edison-is-my-greatest-contemporary/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [As long as we look to legislation to cure poverty or to abolish special privilege we are going to see poverty and special privilege…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/as-long-as-we-look-to-legislation-to-cure-poverty-or-to-abolish/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [The time will come when man will know even what is going on in the other planets and perhaps be able to visit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/the-time-will-come-when-man-will-know-even-what-is-going-on-in-the/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

[Explore all 517 Henry Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

## More Greed quotes

> [Stephanie could see the greed seep into the watery eyes of her father’s other brother, a horrible little man called Fergus, as he nodded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/stephanie-could-see-the-greed-seep-into-the-watery-eyes-of-her-father/)

[Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/)

> [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/)

[Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/)

> [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/)

[Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/)

> [“The fact that they viewed their wealth as a result of their own hands, without any honor other than lip service being given to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-goff/the-fact-that-they-viewed-their-wealth-as-a-result-of-their-own-hands/)

[Lee Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-goff/)

> [“Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/be-fearful-when-others-are-greedy-and-be-greedy-when-others-are/)

[Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/)

> [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/)

[St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/)

> [“In a similar way, The Art of War pinpoints anger and greed as fundamental causes of defeat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/in-a-similar-way-the-art-of-war-pinpoints-anger-and-greed-as/)

[Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/)

> [Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers-sprang-from-men-who-were/)

[Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/)

> [''And one day when all is gone and mankind is lost, all he leaves is the desert.'' ''For man is his own demise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/and-one-day-when-all-is-gone-and-mankind-is-lost-all-he-leaves-is-the/)

[Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/)

> [“Wisdom teaches us that our real enemies are never other living beings. They are ignorance and its minions, including greed, hatred, anger, pride, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-newland/wisdom-teaches-us-that-our-real-enemies-are-never-other-living-beings/)

Guy Newland

> [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/)

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/)

> [The universe appears to me like an immense, inexorable torture-garden…Passions, greed, hatred, and lies; social institutions, justice, love, glory, heroism, and religion: these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/the-universe-appears-to-me-like-an-immense-inexorable-torture-garden/)

[Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/)

> [“Thankfulness acknowledges that we can’t own anything, but we can experience everything. And just knowing that makes me thankful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/thankfulness-acknowledges-that-we-can-t-own-anything-but-we-can/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [Con men look for human frailty to exploit. This is most often greed. Trump found a different vice: anger. The emotional are always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-meyer/con-men-look-for-human-frailty-to-exploit-this-is-most-often-greed/)

[Pamela Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-meyer/)

[Browse all 2,232 Greed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Greed is merely a species of nearsightedness.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Henry Ford"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsightedness/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Greed"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsightedness/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/henry-ford-492_greed_greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsighted_1040095.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/henry-ford-492_greed_greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsighted_1040095.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/henry-ford-492_greed_greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsighted_1040095.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Greed is merely a species of nearsightedness.” — Henry Ford",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Henry Ford",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Greed is merely a species of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsightedness/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsightedness/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
