Is Greed Good

Is greed good? In the 1987 film Wallsteet, a millionaire bond trader said “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 and greed, you mark my words, will save the malfunctioning corporation called the U.S.A”. The character who spoke this was based off a man who was convicted of 98 counts of racketeering and fraud, so the question at hand is; is greed really good? In a capitalist society, money is the best motivator. One will make a product, and improve it if it does not sell, in order to make money. The improvements here are considered progress. The desire for more money caused this progress. For example, most lifeguards are trained by the Red Cross, which is a non profit organization. Some say saving lives is enough to keep the Red Cross vigilant, but others disagree. No, says David Kelley, founder and senior fellow of the Objectivist Institute. He points out that money is a very effective motivator. To win business, Kelly has had to constantly innovate. “That profit-motivated creativity”, he says, “ultimately leads to better lifesaving techniques”. Kelly has invented many life saving techniques such as the “rear-huggi” technique. The Red Cross has since adopted many of Kellys' techniques. For employers and entrepreneurs greed is an essential. They require that their workers and employees have enough desire to keep their job and the money that they deserve. How much money they deserve is based off the strength of their work, and their progress towards the improvement of the product, or costumer satisfaction. The comedy Office Space is an example. Peter says while being asked about his work effiency “It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime” In