Posted on 10/27/2009 11:46:41 AM PDT by AreaMan
Greed is an over-rated fault(sic). At that, the opposite of greed, altruism, is a myth. Everything we do is based on some sort of self-interest. Generally, greed is defined by the one who wants to you sacrifice of yourself for them. To paraphrase a great philosopher, ‘whoever tells you that you must serve them out of selflessness is speaking of servants and masters, and they intend to be the master.’
Gecko said, “Greed, or lack of a better word, is good.”
I think he should have used ambition or another ‘better word’. But it wouldn’t have had the negative impact on captialism the movie had intended.
I have found few good definitions of ‘greed’.
Capitalism or free enterprise compells individuals to engage on their own free will.
The goal should be exchanging value to value. Each value determined by the individuals or creation of value to exchange to enhance one’s standard of living.
The ‘invisible hand’ as Obama puts it is now the ‘government hand’. Central planning fails everytime it’s tried in the US. I guess he’ll have to find out the hard way.
Excellent article. Those who insist that capitalism is all about lying, cheating, and stealing as much as possible, are more likely to be following David Ricardo's twisted interpretations of Adam Smith.
“Capitalism is greed tempered by fear. If you make one or the other non existent, capitalism ceases to exist.....”
It would seem that some fear is instilled into businesses by the government. OSHA laws, EPA Rules, the IRS, etc. The “fear factor” goes down quite a bit I imagine when the business is run by the government. Post Offices and GM today, Health Care tomorrow.
Of course the fear of NOT making a profit is huge, and that too goes away when the government runs the business. (Profit? Heck, that’s what taxes are for!)
You may want to re-read the article. It isn’t what the title may lead you to think.
“It was immortalized by the character Gordon Gekko in the 1987 movie ‘Wall Street,’ directed by Oliver Stone. Michael Douglas played ruthless corporate raider Gordon Gekko, a charismatic villain who insists that ‘greed is good.’ Gekko was Stone’s scathing embodiment of capitalism, seductive and selfish to the core.”
For the record, the line is, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.” The middle part is important. Everything Gecko says from there on is perfectly fine. He’s obviously talking about rational self-interest, amibition, and so forth. And there’s nothing wrong, by the way, with hostile-takovers of terminology. Free marketeers, for instance, gleefully embrace the word “capitalism,” which was popularized by Marx, and in the beginning wasn’t a good thing.
“Greed,” of course, has been around longer than “capitalism,” and people are less likely to accept redifinition. Stone plays with a stacked deck, of course. He gives free marketeers what they want to hear, except the word they’d prefer to use to describe it. So he gets away with throwing them a bone, all the while ensuring the remainder of the audience will come to his conclusion (i.e. that capitalism is bad).
Captialism acknowledges this and harnesses the power of greed (or in a milder form, “self-interest”)to increase productivity, innovation and prosperity. It is imperfect, but is the worst economic system, except for all the others.
The main function of the government should be to do what it can to ensure fair and free markets by preventing thieves and cheaters from corrupting and destroying markets.
I do not believe greed is good. I do, however see nothing wrong with being wealthy. Job, Solomon, Abraham were all extremely wealthy. The Bible gives us some rules re sharing our wealth with others but this is meant to be the choice of a generous heart not the mandating by a greedy government.
Greed is the gathering and keeping of wealth without even the thought of helping out others.
Jesus makes it plain that those who are wealthy and wish to hold on to all they have are going to have a hard time getting into heaven.
Mel
Maybe a better way to put it is that greed is an is. It is something that exists. It is like a hammer. In itself, it is neither good nor bad. It is how one uses it that is good or bad.
Your post made my reach for my Catechism and check out Luther's explanation to the Ninth Commandment. (as we Lutherans number them):
The Ninth Commandment
You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not scheme to get our neighbor's inheritance or house, or get it in a way which only appears right, but help and be of service to him in keeping it.
By the way, good post!
Thank you for this post. I have been trying to get the conservatives here weaned away from the foul libertarians for years under the fear that conservatism would go down the drain with the idiotic Wall Street mess and the wealthy worshippers.
parsy, who says yes you can be a conservative while progressive on economic issues
What could better than a movie maker, sitting at the top of the capitalist food chain, making movies critical of capitalism? Are these guys for real? Do they really believe their rhetoric or are they entirely cynical? Too rich.
Plus anyone who cheers up from NEWSWEAK cannot be trusted.
Hmm, who defines what is "rational?" and also what kind of ambition?
I think even "rational" self-interest and ambition untempered by any self-control or morality is negative. The Objectivism of Ayn Rand and the libertarians is decidedly amoral.
WTF? If by progressive you mean the corporatist, statist, left wing crap being peddled by the current administration...then no, you can't.
What do you mean by “progressive on economic issues” Parsy?
In my Book, “thou shall not covet” is the 10th (Ex 20:17)...
Is the Catholic Bible in a different order or something?
Anyway, it’s about not being envious of others’ possessions. It’s telling you to respect private property.
And it’s for your own good, as you cannot have a peaceful life by constantly desiring what belongs to others.
Progressive? The word you are looking for is “Socialist”.
Man is born greedy. Greed is a sin that, in order to live together in peace, must be bred out of man.
Dr. Benjamin Spock bears a monolithic amount of blame for his championship of permissiveness. The schools have hung on his every word, thus we now have the “me” society. Greed and selfishness, both innate sins, have grown unarrested to bring us to where we are today.
The only proven rules to raise a child is based on the truths contained in the Holy Bbible. Because the schools and legislators have prohibited the Holy Bible in schools and in Congress, God is permitting evil to prevail in our land.
It happens. Good or bad, it's just a part of who we are.
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