Greed

[Factory]

I have read several posts on the forums recently where people talk about 'greed' with great disdain. I believe such a negative view of the word is unwarranted.

Greed can be a motivator for doing illegal and/or unethical actions. There is no doubt about that. However, greed is also one of the most powerful motivators for good.

Friedman sums it up perfectly in this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A


For those who many be new to bitcoins and/or unfamiliar with economics on a whole, I encourage you to at least watch some interviews and speeches given by Milton Friedman. If you have the time, start devouring all of his writings as well.

[bbit]

Thanks for the video! he's right if we don't have greed someone else well.

[CoinCidental]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Muz1OcEzJOs

[kiba]

I have read several posts on the forums recently where people talk about 'greed' with great disdain. I believe such a negative view of the word is unwarranted.

I think people disdains others who are in bitcoin for short term gain and being blind to scammers because of their stupid greed.

[Factory]

I have read several posts on the forums recently where people talk about 'greed' with great disdain. I believe such a negative view of the word is unwarranted.

I think people disdains others who are in bitcoin for short term gain and being blind to scammers because of their stupid greed.

Who's 'stupid greed?' The scammer, for perpetrating the fraud? Or their own 'stupid greed' for carelessly buying into questionable securities with hopes of great returns?

[kiba]

Or their own 'stupid greed' for carelessly buying into questionable securities with hopes of great returns?

Basically that. I hope the wound licking will be quiet when it's all over.

[westkybitcoins]

I have read several posts on the forums recently where people talk about 'greed' with great disdain. I believe such a negative view of the word is unwarranted.

I think people disdains others who are in bitcoin for short term gain and being blind to scammers because of their stupid greed.

Yep.

[Nefario]

"Greed is good" - Gordon Gecko.

[Elwar]

Since time immemorial and pre-industrial, 'greed' has been the accusation hurled at the rich by the concrete-bound illiterates who were unable to conceive of the source of wealth or of the motivation of those who produce it. - Ayn Rand

[Meatpile]

Yeah capitalism is the least shitty of all competing systems... That still doesn't mean it hasen't gone overboard and the rich will eventually own all and enslave all others.

[FirstAscent]

If not greed, then what is the cause of species going extinct or on the verge of going extinct due to poaching?

Sumatran rhino horn is now valued at $30,000 due to its dwindling supply. Nothing like a dwindling supply of Sumatran rhino horn, a sky rocketing price, coupled with greed to accelerate the demise of this species.

[notme]

Greed can be overdone, but so can fear.  The best path is the middle path.

[niemivh]

I have read several posts on the forums recently where people talk about 'greed' with great disdain. I believe such a negative view of the word is unwarranted.

Greed can be a motivator for doing illegal and/or unethical actions. There is no doubt about that. However, greed is also one of the most powerful motivators for good.

Friedman sums it up perfectly in this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A


For those who many be new to bitcoins and/or unfamiliar with economics on a whole, I encourage you to at least watch some interviews and speeches given by Milton Friedman. If you have the time, start devouring all of his writings as well.

Greed is the destroyer of civilizations.  

Another whole scam that goes on in these ideologies is supplanting the word 'greed' with something which it is not.  Rational self interest =/= greed.  This is absurd.  Yet, of course, always, the nature of synthetic ideological systems is to attack language and this is no exception.

[FirstAscent]

If not greed, what is the motivation for toxic waste dumping?

[CoinCidental]

If not greed, what is the motivation for toxic waste dumping?

lazyness

[westkybitcoins]

It might help if we agreed on a definition of "greed" here, or at least take note of which one others are using. I usually use the textbook definition:

excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions.

Emphasis on excessive. As in, if your desire for wealth is so strong that you've just sold your grandma into slavery for thirty pence, yeah, that's definitely excessive, and it's definitely bad.

I understand the desire to defend it as OK when people start saying ridiculous stuff like "You don't want to pay taxes?! You're just an evil, greedy ogre!" But:

(1) That's hardly greed. Wanting to keep what you earn is in no way "excessive."

(2) What it IS, is simple self-interest, which is what most free market supporters accept as OK, and really, one can't argue that.

Calling greed good may be an effective way at making liberals/socialists/etc. flinch, but it hardly seems to be defensible without conflating greed with self-interest.

[FirstAscent]

If not greed, what is the motivation for toxic waste dumping?

lazyness

Is that response because it suits your world view?

[FirstAscent]

(2) What it IS, is simple self-interest, which is what most free market supporters accept as OK, and really, one can't argue that.

I can argue that.

If not self-interest, then what is the cause of species going extinct or on the verge of going extinct due to poaching?

Sumatran rhino horn is now valued at $30,000 due to its dwindling supply. Nothing like a dwindling supply of Sumatran rhino horn, a sky rocketing price, coupled with self-interest to accelerate the demise of this species.

[FirstAscent]

If not self-interest, then what is the cause of deforestation?

[FirstAscent]

If not self-interest, then what is the cause of toxic dumping?