Greed – The Businessman, Politician and Bureaucrat
The majority of people consider greed an undesirable personality trait. They are not open to questioning the truthfulness of this belief. Why question something that is common knowledge?
They need to ask themselves these questions: Is greed an unquestionably bad trait for an individual to possess and display? Does greed always have undesirable social consequences?
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (unabridged) has the following definitions.
Greed:
- inordinate or all-consuming and usually reprehensible acquisitiveness for wealth or gain.
- extreme or voracious desire especially for food or drink.
Unfortunately this rather negative word has been often applied to *businessman who are pursuing profits—as if becoming wealthy by the creation of wealth is inherently evil. Let’s put this nonsense away forever.
* We could also use the term businesswoman.
Methods of Acquiring Wealth
Basically, there are two ways to acquire wealth.
- By productive effort. An individual or organization trades value for value.
- By theft, fraud, violence against others, etc. An individual or organization extorts values from others.
It is obvious that individuals who resort to criminal activities by stealing or extorting wealth from others are using their greed in a negative manner. However, the most disastrous form of greed is expressed through the institute of government.
Greed and Government
What most don’t realize is that government has no wealth of its own. The only way it can possess any is through the taxation of its productive citizens—or by obtaining it through inflation—stealing purchasing power from its citizens by devaluing the currency.
I think you have to agree that ultimate greed rests with any entity that can take value from someone without giving anything of value in return. If you’re a producer of wealth I am certain that you know this is the case.
If you are someone who is obtaining unearned “benefits” from the government—know that these are coming at the expense of wealth producing citizens. Others are sacrificing some of their life and liberty to support you. If you don’t approve of slavery then you have to realize that it's immoral for you to live at the expense of others by enslaving them.
You may wonder why government is growing at an unprecedented rate. Wonder no more. The greed of politicians and bureaucrats is insatiable. They live at the expense of others. No matter how unproductive and destructive their activities are—they can always rape the productive citizen with more taxes and inflation.
Webster’s definition of greed definitely applies to politicians and bureaucrats. They have a voracious desire for unearned wealth—the wealth they steal from you. In addition, they force you to pay the bill when they satisfy their gluttonous desires for food and drink.
Greed and the Businessman (Wealth Producer)
I’ll admit that my threshold for what I can withstand is tested when I hear people criticizing businessman by calling them greedy—and disparaging the social system of capitalism.
Now I agree that businessman who stand in line for government favors at the expense of their competitors deserve to be attacked for their avariciousness. These predators are no friend of capitalism.
The businessman who succeeds on his own merit deserves honor and respect. He is a wealth producer. He is creating values. He is the benefactor of the consumers.
To call an individual who trades value for value greedy is a misapplication of the term. Let’s say that he lives for his own sake and creates to please himself. Let’s even say that he is motivated by greed. Can anyone actually state that this involves extorting values from others. If the consumers approve of what he is doing then he profits. And he has every right to make as much profit as the market will bear.
It can be stated with certainty that when a businessman in a capitalistic system profits—all are benefiting. The businessman earns profits and the consumers have more goods and services that improve the quality of their lives. He also acquires the satisfaction of indulging in productive effort.
*The politician and bureaucrat acquire their wealth through theft and extortion. They produce no wealth. They survive by taking it from productive citizens and consuming it or giving it their favored unproductive citizens. Is it any wonder that our economy is on the verge of collapse?
To refer to an honest businessman as greedy is immoral and unjust. To call a politician or bureaucrat greedy is much closer to the truth.
*In all fairness I am sure that somewhere in the universe there may be politicians and bureaucrats who are motivated by what is right and just. Ron Paul is rational and honest. It would be nice to know where the rest of them are.
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