Greed-The backbone of the capitalist economy

Prior to today's viewing of the John Stossel video, I never really viewed the capitalist economy being ran strictly on greed; however, I now see why this deadly sin is so vital to the success of an economy. Greed allows consumers to purchase decent goods at a "reasonable" price because of the numerous competitors that are just as eager to take the money from that same person. As Thomas Sowell elaborates in his article, it takes hard work to become greedy, for someone, somewhere, has to want to pay this greedy person that high salary.

Some unintelligent people may say "it takes away from me." In reality, however, it doesn't. It is better for everyone because it keeps the prices low. Without greed, there would be no motivation to produce the products that one needs to survive, and to produce those products with good quality and appropriate prices. The business could care less how severely someone needed a new pair of shoes. They care about the money that the person is using to purchase their product and how it will benefit them. Without greed, production has the potential to decrease, thus decreasing the high living standards. Greed keeps people working together and producing at a faster, better rate.

Dave Carlson explains that the love of money is not what makes one evil; it is how far they will go to get that money. Occasionally, greed can lead to tragic and chaotic events, but without it, how much would be accomplished? If the economy solely relied on compassion to take care of it, most likely, it would fall to pieces. There is not a single person who is not greedy, for if they weren't, they would have nothing at all. The capitalist nation depends on greed for its survival. One shall judge it as they may, but in the end, they are just as greedy as all Americans, for if they weren't, they wouldn't reside in this capitalist nation.


http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/01/the_greed_fallacy.html -Thomas Sowell

http://www.greenchair.net/articles/greed-is-good.htm -Dave Carlson