Release: Is Greed Good?

Released On: Tuesday, July 23, 2002

Is greed good? Alan Greenspan vs. Ayn Rand.

WASHINGTON, JULY 23 /PRNEWSWIRE/ --

A recent New York Times article (July 21, 2002) focused on Alan Greenspan’s remarks to the effect that “infectious greed” is responsible for recent business scandals, and that more government regulation might be needed. These views, the piece points out, seem to contradict the philosophy of his mentor, Ayn Rand, and his own statements of four decades ago. For Rand, laissez-faire capitalism is the system in which individuals produce goods and services that they trade with one another based on mutual consent, not on the use of force or fraud. Capitalism is a moral system based on respect for the equal rights of individuals to pursue their own rational self-interest, and it rewards people for their achievements.

Political philosopher and Ayn Rand expert, Dr. Edward Hudgins notes, “Rand was virtually alone in celebrating the virtues of productive, innovative individuals and the wealth they create. She emphasized that businessmen at their best will first and foremost love their work and the challenge of creating products and services that earn them profits. If that’s greed, it’s to be praised! Rand also singled out for condemnation businessmen who seek money by any means, including fraud, or government handouts and special favors. If that’s greed, it’s to be damned!"

Hudgins, who is Washington director of a think tank devoted to Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, observes that the deceitful practices of WorldCom and Enron pale beside similar fraudulent practices of the federal government. Further, government regulations helped drive WorldCom into bankruptcy. "While new laws might be needed to punish fraud, new regulations would only make matters worse. The recent scandals show that a free market and a free society must be based on a sound and ethical infrastructure. Adopting the morality of capitalism will help prevent both corporate and government scandals in the future," says Hudgins.

The Objectivist Center is a national not-for-profit think tank promoting the values of reason, individualism, freedom and achievement in American culture. Its scholars are experts on Ayn Rand’s thought and influence and have written several pieces on the Enron and WorldCom scandals.

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