Greed: Bah! Humbug!

During an interview to puff his new movie, A Christmas Carol, Jim Carrey decided to join the long line of knuckleheads that are blaming capitalism for our nation’s present economic crisis:

“I was thinking about it this morning, how this story ties into everything we’re going through,” says Carrey, who, thanks to the technology, plays Scrooge as well as the three ghosts haunting him. “Every construct we’ve built in American life is falling apart. Why? Because of personal greed and ambition. Capitalism without regulation can’t protect us against personal greed."

As Mark Steyn points out over on one of National Review’s blog sites, "The Corner," if the guy was all that troubled about the consequences of capitalism he could have stayed in Canada and made movies for the State owned production companies for 3 or 4 hundred thousand dollars per movie, rather than going to Hollywood and being paid 20 million per movie.

Greed is a very difficult thing to spot, as it purports to look into the hearts of men and women and accurately discern their motives.

Is every wealthy person and business tycoon guilty of greed?

Is greed the only possible motive for doing what they did in achieving their success?

Is acting in your best self-interest synonymous with greed?

And so what if these people are greedy? If the law says, “You can’t lie, steal or force me to buy your product,” then whatever these people are doing can only be accomplished through voluntary arrangements.

I think that when people today rail against greed what they are often saying is this:

I see a need that I believe must be met.

You have “plenty” of money and, therefore, must meet that need.

Your refusal to do so tells us that you are a greedy person.

Of course, from here they begin demanding that the government confiscate the greedy person’s money and give it to the needy. However, has any of these people ever stopped to think about who or what will defend us from a greedy government? Are governments, which are made up of people Just Like Us, immune to greed? No, they are not. And what makes their greed most dangerous is that they are not restricted by voluntary arrangements.

Copyright, Monte E Wilson, 2009