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Greed, Capitalism, and Free Markets

Is greed good? Were I to quote a Hollywood icon from the movie Wall Street, the words "Greed is Good", I would be showered by many with criticism. It's all about altruism, peace, love, and free stuff, right? So, instead, I will point you to several insights about greed, and suggest that, perhpas, the word "greed" has been made out to be a villain.

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. Wikipedia has:

Greed is the selfish desire for the pursuit of money, wealth, power, food, or other possessions, especially when this denies the same goods to others. It is generally considered a vice, and is one of the seven deadly sins in Catholicism.

Yet, I believe that to apply the extreme position that greed applies "...especially when this denies the same goods to others", is an editorialization on the definition.

Greed - the desire to have more than one needs - is relative. To suggest, for example, that a priest or monk only has what they need, and nothing more, is to then suggest that anyone not "of the cloth", is therefore greedy.

If I, for example, have a two bedroom house, and three children, some may say that all I need is a roof over my head. I, on the other hand, would want a bedroom for me and my wife, and one for each of my children. Is that greedy? Do I need a bedroom for each child? That's relative to your perspective.

My city offers public schooling, but I am of the opinion that that education is poor, (and independant studies back me up on this), so I am sending my children to private school, and paying for that. Is that greedy? Here is something free, but I want something better. Some one argue I don't need that.

Where do we draw the line?

How often do I need a new car? New clothes? A new camera? New computers? How many assignments a month do I need, and how many do I want? Do I need to make a profit off of every shoot, or is it just that I want to?

The first video worth a listen to is from decades ago, with Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman:


More videos after the jump.


Next up: Milton Friedman on self-interest and the morality corporations pursuing profits.


Milton Friedman debates Naomi Klein (by creative editing):


Charlie Rose takes this look at Friedman for almost an hour:


And finally, a bit of hollywood's take on Greed, thanks to Michael Douglas:

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