Greed and Goodness

The origin of the phrase 'Greed is Good', often associated with Reagan-era Morality, is usually taken to be Gordon Gekko, in the film Wall Street. However, the source is indeed factual, Ivan Boesky, so as a characterization of the ethos of the era, it is not fictional. Two contemporary responses to this praise of Greed are theoretically well-grounded. Some have argued that there is a distinction between Greed and Self-Interest, with which Adam Smith would concur, since for him, Self-Interest is to be coordinated with Sympathy. And, Salman Rushdie's observation, that Greed is a type of Insanity, is supported by the Aristotelian analysis, which holds Vice to be a psychological unbalance, i. e. Intemperance. The Evolvemental analysis of Greedy behavior goes further--such behavior is caused by an external object, and, hence, it lacks the Self-Control entailed by Idionomic Freedom. But, Greed can also be deliberate Conduct, as when one is acting on the basis of the Principle 'Greed is Good' itself. Now, there might be contexts in which such a Principle is constructive, i. e. as a corrective to self-dissipation, e. g. to mob mentality, to Heidegger's 'They', to self-destructive self-sacrifice, etc. But, in such situations, it is only a special application of the general Evolvemental Principle, 'Balance the promotion of one's own interests and that of others'. Such comparative narrowness of Principle demonstrates that, at best, Greed has small Phronetic Value.