[matthewmacleod]

I think this is a bit of a shallow read on what anger is – one can rightfully feel angry at an injustice and use that motivation to effect positive change.

I also prefer—on a personal level—to set anger aside. But anger is probably one of the strongest forces driving individuals to "make the world better".

[roenxi]

> But anger is probably one of the strongest forces driving individuals to "make the world better".

Are you thinking of an instance? Anger typically locks in the status-quo by causing people to fight each other. Greed on the other hand has pushed us from farming monkeys into modern society with a material existence that was hitherto unthinkably comfortable. Harnessing greed created and powers the modern engine of wealth creation. And greed works best when people are thoughtful, patient, kind and calm.

Typically anger just makes people do things that are hasty and stupid. I'm not thinking of situations where I've seen it get much done. It isn't an emotion that can power long term, strategic plans - or at least not good ones. Tends to burn out or be destructive.

[ufocia]

Greed makes people do things that are hasty and stupid. Love makes people do things that are hasty and stupid. ... All emotions are by definition impulsive and irrational and thus hasty and stupid. You are cherry picking.

[roenxi]

> All emotions are by definition impulsive and irrational and thus hasty and stupid

That isn't true. Emotions are usually rational, and may or may not be swift. Consider greed - it can be harnessed to power long-term plans, as can be seen when looking at the economy. And that is hardly cherry picking, we're surrounded by examples and it is foundational to the theory of why it all works. Consider someone saving up money to buy a fancy car. That might be a decision powered by love; is probably powered by greed and it seems a stretch to say people would do that because they were really angry with the world.

Anger doesn't have the same staying power as positive emotions, or more neutral emotions like greed.

> You are cherry picking.

You may note I'm explicitly asking Mr. matthewmacleod to cherry pick.