The Man Who Quit Money

“Born this way” Selfishness is defined as the stinginess resulting from a concern of your own welfare and the disregard of others. Selfishness, once passing a certain level, is seen as a character flaw by many people. Where does selfishness come from? Is it a trait in which as humans we pick up over time, or is it an animalistic trait in which we are born with and have no control over? Author Mark Sundeen tells us the story of Daniel Suelo, in the book The Man Who Quit Money. Daniel Suelo was a mid-aged man, who decided to drop everything and live on his own without the use of money; he would no longer live the typical American lifestyle and survive strictly on the kindness of others and the leftovers he could find in dumpsters. There are two kinds of selfishness’ mentioned in this book, the clear selfishness of people and what they are willing to give, and the unclear selfishness of Daniel Suelo and only caring for himself. I believe Daniel Suelo was unintentionally a selfish person, and that money makes us all selfish people. We first see clear Selfishness on page 11, when Suelo takes Mathew and Melony into the patch with the watermelon, and the fruit and vegetables. The patch was owned by a man who thought everything would turn to shred after Obama was elected president, but after it didn’t the man abandoned it; however, it was still his. Suelo took Mathew and Melony down to the patch and at several watermelons with them. Is this selfish because they are technically stealing from another mans property and his work that he did. Or is it selfish that this man owned this land and just abandoned it. This idea of selfishness is based on perspective and how the individual sees the situation; however, it is still a form of selfishness. “Mathew and Melony and I filled our arms with melons, hoarding them like iGadgets we’d liberated from Best buy after a hurricane. But Suelo chose only a single, small green fruit.” ( Sundeen 11) Often in the American