is greed good or bad for the economy?

Answer 1

Not too much and not too little is the best way to go. If you have too much greed we would have what we had in the late 1800s where the laissez faire (no regulation) type of economic regulation left a huge poor lower class and a higher class that controlled a disportionate percentage of the nation's wealth.

On the other hand if we don't have greed, it would also undermine the competitive edge that Americans have over other nations, thereby rendering the economy totally useless like the soviet economies that were ravaged by communism in the towards their collapse in the 1990s.

So economists believe that there is a certain threshold where a certain amount of greed would make the economy more efficient.

Answer 2

greed is bad, to act out of greed is to play to ones ego

if you are acting out of greed you also tend to only look at the short term, companies are still paying back mistakes made out of 'greed' after years

the scandal where a major usa car manufacturer worked out that its petrol tank was placed in the wrong position recently and decided it would be cheaper to deal with the legal costs of dead families than actually recall and replace the fuel tank is one such example

enron and worldcom are others, japans economy is only just recovering from their last bout of 'greed' which saw companies artificially keep the stockmarket inflated (high) - japan has had a 0% growth economy for years now due to lack of confidence as a result

on the other hand there is a need for some greed otherwise you will have a stagnant economy, the people get used to being protected and fail to see impending threats as easily - this is the kind of environment that allowed hitler and stalin to flourish (as nobody possessed the skills to stop them)

Answer 3

Greed is total saving and zero consumption. Greed looks toward the future by totaly forgetting the present. This could be termed an economic growth but not an economic development. The society but needs economic development , not a mere economic growth. However, as economic growth is the driving force to economic development, some greed is essential to an economy.

Answer 4

It depends how you define 'greed'. My dictionary defines 'greed' as 'inordinate or rapacious desire, especially for food or wealth'. However, what is inordinate or excessive in any given circumstance is a subjective decision. If I eat one donut most people wouldn't say that I was greedy, but if I ate 2 dozen, they would.

If you walk into a shop with enough money to buy a bottle of soft drink (Coke or Fanta) and you choose Fanta because that is what you would prefer, then you are acting to maximise your own well-being. This is a good thing and is also what makes profits for big corporations. They make and sell those goods and services that will make them better off and don't make or sell things that will make them worse off. This is why 'greed' is a matter of degree. Economist Adam Smith refers to the way in which thousands of people each acting in their own individual interest makes everyone better off as 'the invisible hand'. This theory explains why countries where individuals can choose what they buy and where they work have higher standards of living than centrally planned countries (eg many of the old communist regimes), where government officials made these decisions for them. Therefore, 'greed' is good when it makes other better off, even if the person who is being greedy doesn't intend to have this effect. However, when someone acts in their own interest and makes others worse off (what economists refer to as a 'negative externality') then greed can be bad.

Answer 5

Greed is good for the economy, but bad for spiritual evolution.

Answer 6

Greed is extremely bad for the ecomomy. The idea of a stable economy is that everyone shares in things equally. To be greedy is to have it all to ones self.

Answer 7

GOOD

Do you think that the people who created computers, Internet infrastructure, and software did it out of the goodness of their heart. Or maybe, just maybe, they did it because they saw an opportunity and wanted to get rich.

Go greed!

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Answer 8

I am so sure it does nothing good. Who cares what it does to the economy, I am more concerned what it does to people. Ruins lives. Ruins everything.

Answer 9

It's good for the economy but bad for society and your soul.

"Give it away, give it away, give it away man!"

Answer 10

Bad. When has it ever been good? It causes war, pain, and suffering. There are no instances of which I know of that they have been good.