Can Green Greed Be Good?

The most significant element within this delightful discussion is the open confrontation with greed. That is step one in dealing with it, recognizing its motivations and behaviors and then working past them. Yes, lust exists and when uncontrolled harms all involved, but redirected lust can morph into innovation which generally both enriches and improves life for many. Perhaps greed is the force behind self-preservation and if so, that can be more effectively applied in a green-greed modality. Regardless, until we convert that motivation, irrespective of its moniker, into a force to better all of us and planet Earth, we are dissolving instead of evolving as a civilization. I also respectfully submit that advancing a civilization that seeks to share both wealth and progress with all its members is not evil. Sharing does not or should not imply "charity", it should generally invoke earned sharing with charitable acts an accepted exception that seek to enable the disabled (fit, form or function) to become productive. The ongoing misapplication of Darwin's theory about the survival of the fittest as justification for denying a leg-up to the disadvantaged is simple and straight-forward meanness. This seems to be a strong theme in sections of my country (US). Oddly, those proponents are often first in line for relief when things collapse. I have thoroughly enjoyed this discussion, and I find it encouraging and a bright ray of hope regarding humankind's ongoing evolution. Cheers to all..

And I think what EcoAngel is referring to is what screws up economists’ assumption that people will make the ''best and most educational purchase decision available''. Greed (or other less malignant forms of it) will provide a variety of economic activity that is simply unpredictable. Ecotourismtrends: I agree: one needs the other (competition and cooperation). It is the lust to succeed, achieve, and gain that drives activity, innovation, and progress. Thus, the conclusion of my post: we need greed (or whatever we want to call it) to make projects (especially good ones) advance.

Great comments everyone! Glad I started a discussion. And thanks for reading. Waddell, I agree: you would think that lessons have been learned from past speculation-fueled crash & burn events (1929, 1987, 1997, 2001, 2008). That there`s a better way to manage money, growth, and prosperity. I suppose that global finance is still ''immature'' as a science and art form. And I am in total agreement with your last comment: the objective should be to harness our individual need for success in order to advance as a collective group.

I hope that people are greedy when it comes to developing and selling green/cleantech. You can never escape greed, but I must be honest, in my study of history, we have never treated each other better than we do today. We have never cared and shared as much information, as much concern, as much awareness as we do today. We are human, and DNA is not greedy in actuality. A very good argument has been made that cooperation http://tiny.cc/56lz1 allowed us to evolve, not greed, so we should use both cooperation and greed to advance a better world. Ego isn't bad, if we were entirely selfless nothing would get done. The conflict or competition inherent in all things is what brings about change. It's heat that causes the molecule to move faster and transform the substance and heat that sharpens the knife when rubbed against the honing stone and it is the heat or conflict that comes from the ego's need to prove itself correct that causes the stubborn academic or inventor to persevere against all odds to gain new insights, collect new data and do better analysis that brings to the world a deeper understanding of all things. This is not a bad thing in a healthy ego - only in a disturbed ego does this cause problems, and contrary to the psychology industry, of which I used to count myself a member, most people are not disturbed and do not have "disorders" that need extensive treatment. The alchemists of old were correct -- the formula is Solve et Coagula - without as within and vice versa. The alchemists stone must be heated gently, tended carefully as it dissolves and reforms into something greater than the sum of its parts and this is the description of humanity's journey. Humanity is in a perpetual state of disolving and reforming into something better than the sum of our parts - achieving as individuals our own Summum Bonum or gold and as a cooperative collection we do the same for the world.

Interesting insight Waddell, although I think the issue is the use of language. Greed and its negative stigma (as a deadly sin and disrepuatble quality) stems from such definitions as this wiki one: "an excessive desire to possess wealth or goods with the intention to keep it for one's self." This definition is limited to wealth and goods. So what happens if you take away the "Excessive" and the "keep for one' self"; what then drives you? Can you still have Greed? Probably not. But then is competition not diluted. And can we have the same productivity without that competition? Perhaps if the "Excessive" was replaced with "Appropriate" and the "for oneself" with "everyone else including me" you have the ideal formula. Then it comes down to who has got the best product for all of us - and in order to prove that is there not some degree of competition required that may stem itself from greedy desire to inflate the ego? Do scientists and academics not try to disprove one anothers' theories and make names for themselves? Do two men not fall in love with the same woman, or visa-versa? You cannot remove the greed form human nature, I believe. Even if we were educated at birth to have unselfish values, would greed not arise from our evolutionary natures, and various hormonal, DNA and circumstantial make-ups? Channeling it into such worthy activities as these green enterprises is perhaps the smartest thing society could do to hollistically improve our world.

Well that is an interesting prognosis and considering the way Big Money behaves today I would say it is accurate. The problem is, greed, in my opinion, is self-defeating as we are experiencing right now in the US. Oh sure there are the greed masters still sitting pretty, but if the Congress and our President let the nation slide into default then even the those money boys will suffer and suffer badly as will all the rest of us. So somehow we need to follow your ideas about a great investment breakthrough in building a green economy, but learn to do it a little less aggressively and control the process so that it thrives longer. As you note, if it thrives we thrive and that is the good part.