Maybe Greed is Good, After All

I think this country is in deep trouble. I think we are losing sight of the ideas of individualism and personal responsibility. And I think we have too many who think life owes them a living. They want life to be fair, they see rich people and envy them, they denigrate the successful as greedy, they are beginning to hate corporations, they hate banks, and they seem to be demanding something for nothing.

I could be wrong. I have known many people who worked hard all their lives only to find themselves with nothing to show for it. But I also see people who never worked hard for anything and also ended up with nothing. I feel for both but more for the latter than the former. As I have told you, I never worked really hard in my life. Well, that's not entirely true. I have worked hard from time to time but it never felt that way. What it felt like was temporary. Like I would only have to do it for a few days or weeks and then I would find myself in an easier situation.  This was especially true in the Navy. Most of the time, I hardly worked at all. But, when work had to be done, it was best to put your all in it and get it over with.

I carried that into civilian life and it always paid off for me.

I am not a "Type A" personality. I am, as I have often stated, about as lazy a person as you will ever meet. This is why I have never wanted to own a business. There's just too much work involved. But "Type A" people are the ones who usually end up successful and envied by others. They start businesses and run them, they grow their businesses and turn them into corporations. They provide jobs for others. So why denigrate them? Why assume they are greedy? Personally, I admire them. And I do not care if they are motivated by greed.

In the movie "Wall Street", a character named Gordon Gekko said:

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.

He was not wrong. If you want something and are willing to work for it then you have the positive effect of greed. If you want something but are unwilling to work for it then you have the negative effect of greed. That version leads to envy and hate. The other leads to success.

I think we have embraced the wrong version.