I think greed happens when it is purely for profit and nothing else, ie more than you 'need' as another member said. Yes everyone will have a different version of need, but in a capitalist society if your (individual) making >1m pa and are then still trying to squeeze out every last cent that is probably greedy.
In corporate for me it is when it become purely for shareholder profits. Large business' do have a social responsibility but when you start cutting jobs, or moving them offshore or making people work extra hours all just for a profit when you are already making billions of dollars, that is greed. (Of course fire people if they aren't performing)
Aus banks are a classic example. They now raise interest rates outside of our Reserve Banks cycle, just to make a profit. Because they have an oligopoly they can. They each make billions a year PROFIT and still cut back on jobs. Its this short term, shareholder driven, mentality that will eventually bring down large corporates like this.
On the other hand, there was a privately owned transport co here in Aus that recently sold for $200m. What did the owner do? Gave each of his staff a bonus (some up to 100k) based on the time they had been with the company.
Sustainabilty over Greed/Capitalism is where we need to move as a Western society in a World where scarcity is going to be forever increasing. Post-capitalism still has a long way to go to work itself out, but things are slowly changing in some areas.
|