Walter E. Williams: I Love Greed!

Famous libertarian economist Walter Williams talks about why greed is good. It's an eye opener for many who will take chance and hear it. From the Rush Limbaugh show, 12/30/2011.

(see video at the bottom of the article)

transcript:

I'm kinda motivated by very very interesting article in the American Thinker by a fellow Michael Bargo Jr. And he starts of in his first paragraph: "As the country continues to suffer from joblessness, excessive federal deficit spending, the occupy Wall Street people just talk about corporate greed. It's a simple cause of all our problems, it's greed."

Well look fellows, I'll tell you: I love greed. I think greed is wonderful. Now, when I say greed I'm not talking about stealing, cheating, going to government getting handouts, or special privileges. What I'm talking about is people trying to get as much as they can for themselves. And I think that this process of people trying to get as much as they can for themselves it results in wonderful things.

For example, you're gona have Texas cattle ranchers out this winter getting up in the middle of the night, maybe during blizzards, running down stray cows to take care of them. The cows might even kick them, and they are making this huge personal sacrifice so that New Yorkers can have beef on their shelves. You had Idaho potato farmers getting up in the morning doing backbreaking work, sun beating down on them, bugs biting them, making this personal sacrifice so that New Yorkers also have potatoes.

Now ladies and gentlemen, why do you think they're doing that? Do you think they are doing that because they love New Yorkers? They may hate New Yorkers. I'm not that wild about New Yorkers myself. But they make sure that beef and potatoes get to New York every single day of the week. Why? Because they love themselves. They are trying to get more for themselves. And that's what gets wonderful things done.

Now, here's the next question folks: How much beef and potatoes do you think New Yorkers would have on their shelves if it all depended on human love and kindness? I'd be worried about New Yorkers. I'd be seriously worried about how much beef and potatoes they would have if it all depend on human love and kindness.

This is what Adam Smith was talking about in The Wealth of Nations. The matter of fact, Adam Smith was considered one of the founders of economics, and Wealth of Nations which is a very important book, came out in 1776, same time our ancestors declared inependence. But he said, and i'm just paraphrasing, he said that we get our bread and our milk and our candles not from the benevolence of the baker and the candlestick maker, we get it because of their concern for themselves.

So when you hear people talking about greed, you have to ask them what other motivation is going to get wonderful things done. It is not going to be charity. Think about that when people talk about greed.