But defining good greed vs. bad greed provides no mechanism for achieving one over the other
I don't think there is good greed and bad greed. IMO, and according to the Webster definition, all greed is bad.
That article notwithstanding, Rand is not about greed. I read the good greed bit as tongue in cheek.
Note the praise of corporations, and the bashing of governments.
The reason corporations are praised is that they produce stuff. This is a good thing. The reason government is bashed is because it over-regulates. This is a bad thing.
If you think that making profits is somehow inherently bad, and a lot of people do, then you're not receptive to libertarianism. Corporations have a role to play. They play it by maximizing profits. People judge them on other criteria but other criteria are peripheral if not irrelevant. Corporations are like defense lawyers. Lots of people don't like criminal defense lawyers, either, because they defend guilty and sometimes horrid people. But that's their role to play. For corporations and defense lawyers, there are other checks and balances and they do their jobs best if they play their roles to the hilt while others play theirs. It's no more bad than a cat chasing a mouse is bad. It's simply what they do.
If by some magic we could make everyone good, we would not need laws.
No one is suggesting that everyone needs to be good and no one is suggesting we do not need laws. It's a question of which things are the province of the government and amenable to laws. Of course we have laws to protect people against violence and fraud. But when you start thinking about the government's role in keeping your kid from choosing a career in prostitution, you're into over-regulation, collectivism, social engineering, nannyism and the rest. The government has no proper role in the career choice of individuals. |
