Any bad deed is due to selfishness. Stealing, cheating, bullying, gambling, murdering, lying, etc. are all due to the humane nature of self-gratification. On a daily basis, people cheat to get further and be successful in life and improve themselves while using others. Complicated relationships and arguments also arise from selfishness and the unwillingness to compromise. Aggressors, who bully innocent people, do so out of desire to feel better about themselves. People lie to protect themselves from punishment.
Desire leads people with power to want more power. People are never satisfied with what they have. The wealthier you are the more you want. This desire to accumulate more wealth leads to conflicts or war, and millions of people suffer or die because of this greed. For example, if we look back to the time when the Roman Catholic Church ruled during the Middle Ages, we can see how the Church took advantage over the fact that most of the population were unable read and write. Many church officials would abuse their power and dispose of anyone who tried to attack their positions. Many of the commoners spent their whole lives suffering in poverty, while the higher clergymen lived wealthy lives.
Greed prioritizes material wealth or money over anything else. Widespread slavery in America was the result of plantation owners and traders who conspired to make huge profits at the