Adam Smith

Adam Smith

Do you think that Adam Smith would approve of Gekko’s philosophy? Is “the pursuit of self interest” the same as “greed”? Why/Why not? Is greed, in all its forms, good?

Is Greed Good?

For those of you unfamiliar with Gordon Gekko, he is one of the central characters in Oliver Stone’s film Wall Street.  Stone made a sequel in 2010, once again featuring Gekko, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, but he dumped, wisely or not, Charlie Sheen.   Check out this clip of Gekko at work in the first film, talking about greed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8y6DJAeolo

Do you think that Adam Smith would approve of Gekko’s philosophy?  Is “the pursuit of self interest” the same as “greed”?  Why/Why not?  Is greed, in all its forms, good?