Greed is good?

[Stevicus]

Some of us may still remember Michael Douglas in the movie Wall Street where he uttered the infamous line "Greed is good."

Such attitudes were common for that era, and still continue to persist to this day. But some people knew that, eventually, there would be consequences for such arrogant, cavalier, dangerously myopic attitudes.

Such as...

Panama:

Sri Lanka:

Chile:

Paris:

And even in the U.S.:

Some might attribute these disturbances and signs of unrest as caused by some flashpoint event (such as an act of police brutality or other atrocity) or some temporary crisis (such as the pandemic or the Russia-Ukraine war). However, I would suggest that the underlying causes go much deeper, with roots going much further back than the past couple of years.

 

[Hermit Philosopher]

Yes, “greed” is short-sighted. And he who had suffered from it, knows that it is an all-consuming addiction.

“Ambition” was not long ago too considered a sin and viewed as the need to prove one’s worth to self and others.


Humbly
Hermit

 

[Estro Felino]

The uncontrolled and unvetted capitalistic system based upon neo-liberism, or liberalism in general is suicidal.

That is, the profit maximization is like a slow and inexorable self-destruction.
So greed is good, as heroine, the drug, is good. It leads to self-destruction, ultimately.

 

[RestlessSoul]

When the global oligarchs have impoverished and enslaved us all in their lust for wealth and power, will they be satisfied then? I doubt they ever will tbh.

 

[Audie]

When the global oligarchs have impoverished and enslaved us all in their lust for wealth and power, will they be satisfied then? I doubt they ever will tbh.

As if

 

[Wildswanderer]

An open and free market is good.

 

[Audie]

An open and free market is good.

100% " open", no regulation of any kind?

 

[Audie]

Yes, “greed” is short-sighted. And he who had suffered from it, knows that it is an all-consuming addiction.

“Ambition” was not long ago too considered a sin and viewed as the need to prove one’s worth to self and others.


Humbly
Hermit

Of course.
Greed is a negative word, defines itself as bad.

 

[RestlessSoul]

An open and free market is good.

Do you think the open and free market is serving the people of your country well? And is it serving the many, or only the few?

 

[PureX]

Greed, by definition, is the motive of increasing one's own wealth by decreasing the wealth of others. It is fundamentally antagonistic and competitive. So of course it will result in violent strife if it's allowed to be acted on unrestrained. And like a criminal, it will always resist any restraints we try to impose on it.

Unfortunately, too, greed is contagious. Those already infected by the motive of greed seek to exploit everyone around them, forcing everyone around them to become greedy just to survive the onslaught of exploitation by others. And soon everyone is operating from the motive of greed: of piling up as much of everything as possible, regardless of need, before everyone else gets it all.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Do you think the open and free market is serving the people of your country well? And is it serving the many, or only the few?

Yes, only it's not as open as it could be. It's serving those with ambition to succeed.

 

[Daemon Sophic]

The uncontrolled and unvetted capitalistic system based upon neo-liberism, or liberalism in general is suicidal.

That is, the profit maximization is like a slow and inexorable self-destruction.
So greed is good, as heroine, the drug, is good. It leads to self-destruction, ultimately.

I often wonder what your Italian impression of ‘liberalism’ really is. What you describe is, at least in the US, considered to be purely the outlook of Conservatives. Liberals, in the US, tend to be against unregulated capitalism, and are much more about it paying laborers for their work rather than investors for their obscene wealth. Liberals are the 99.9%. Conservatives serve only the $$ elite $$.

An open and free market is good.

Even Ayn Rand acknowledged that Some regulations are required on businesses. And of course we must all recognize that Ayn Rand is simply a fiction writer from the former Soviet union, and had absolutely no working knowledge of economics.

Yes, only it's not as open as it could be. It's serving those with ambition to succeed.

Of course we should reward those who have ambition and work hard. Even those who work hard without ambition.
However since government regulations are controlled by money, and money is controlled by the rich, then it becomes a self-serving feedback loop which quickly excludes the hard workers in favor of those who are rich. They have no other motive than to be richer, and they have no other virtues than the fact that they are rich. And of course, being rich and greedy or not virtues.

Government regulations should be established to allow anybody with ambition, hard work, and a good idea to get a little further ahead than people that simply work hard to produce what we all need. And even those who simply work hard without intellect or ambition should earn enough to live and not worry about their children, their food, or their healthcare. It is from such an environment, and only from such an environment, that the millions of people with new, good ideas for improvement can be made, and businesses founded upon those ideas.

 

[Estro Felino]

I often wonder what your Italian impression of ‘liberalism’ really is. What you describe is, at least in the US, considered to be purely the outlook of Conservatives. Liberals, in the US, tend to be against unregulated capitalism, and are much more about it paying laborers for their work rather than investors for their obscene wealth. Liberals are the 99.9%. Conservatives serve only the $$ elite $$.

I meant this
Liberism - Wikipedia

 

[Sand Dancer]

An open and free market is good.

Profit before people is wrong.

 

[sun rise]

In the US, our oligarchs get away with it aided and abetted primarily by the right wing who believe that the super rich must pay a lot less taxes as a percentage than the poor and middle class.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Yes, only it's not as open as it could be. It's serving those with ambition to succeed.

I don’t really see how an economy which only benefits a small minority of people, is of any real value to society in general. Whereas societal breakdown tends to impact negatively on all of society, including the rich and privileged behind their walls and their barbed wire.

 

[Sand Dancer]

In the US, our oligarchs get away with it aided and abetted primarily by the right wing who believe that the super rich must pay a lot less taxes as a percentage than the poor and middle class.

They think that if someone is rich, they must be good and moral and are rewarded by god. Boy, that is opposite of what Jesus had to say.

 

[PureX]

I don’t really see how an economy which only benefits a small minority of people, is of any real value to society in general. Whereas societal breakdown tends to impact negatively on all of society, including the rich and privileged behind their walls and their barbed wire.

Yes. And that is the insanity of greed: that in the end it will devour even it's most ardent practitioners. It is a sink-hole of wanting that cannot be filled. And that will swallow everything and everyone that dares to try.

 

[PureX]

They think that if someone is rich, they must be good and moral and are rewarded by god. Boy, that is opposite of what Jesus had to say.

Yes, but if that is a message you are willing to preach, the wealthy among us will happily support you in doing so. It's why we have so many among us preaching the gospel of greed: that greed is good for the "advancement" mankind, and that the rich deserve to be rich because they are smarter and work harder than everyone else. And because they are willing to take the chances and be the "leaders" among us when the rest of us cowards just want to follow like sheep.

And a lot of us have fallen for these insane lies, too. Especially when we're being rewarded for it.

 

[Nakosis]

Some of us may still remember Michael Douglas in the movie Wall Street where he uttered the infamous line "Greed is good."

Such attitudes were common for that era, and still continue to persist to this day. But some people knew that, eventually, there would be consequences for such arrogant, cavalier, dangerously myopic attitudes.

Greed is never satisfied. Tough to go through life never being satisfied.