Destructive Achievers, the Glorification of Greed
and Their Impact on Society

     Destructive Achievers could not live comfortably in society if greed were not justified. Therefore, the corporate-controlled mass media justify greed and materialism almost daily.

     The rationale seems to be that "greed is what made our country successful," "greed is responsible for the greatest economy mankind has ever developed," and "greed is the essence of capitalism."

Greed: Still One of the Seven Deadly Sins

     None of the above claims is true. As Toynbee and the world's mainstream religions have concluded, in one form or another, greed is one of the seven deadly sins—and for good reason. It eventually destroys human organizations and societies. If unchecked, it will destroy our capitalistic system.

     Apologists for America's wealthy and powerful deliberately confuse greed with a normal, healthy, self-interest. Self-interest is the necessary motivation that enables a person to provide for the welfare of himself and his family—adequate housing, food, education, health care, a good sense of values, and so on.

     But self-interest becomes greed, as any dictionary defines the term, when it becomes excessive: when it leads to behaviors that are dishonest, fraudulent, devious, deceptive, or manipulative.

How the United States Really Became Great

     The people who made the United States the greatest and strongest country in the world were not greedy. They were dedicated to the ethical and moral standards of their professions or work. They succeeded in spite of, not because of, the greed of others. They overcame the negative and costly effects of greed on society:

• They went into the medical profession because healing the sick was their calling, and patients' care and welfare was their primary consideration.

• They became journalists because they wanted to report the truth as objectively as possible, and—in the process of reporting what was actually happening in the world—most became liberals.

• They went into business in order to provide a quality product or service for the public at the lowest possible price and with a decent return to themselves.

• They went into politics in order to make our society a better place for everyone—which meant that they had to protect the free market from unscrupulous predators, and to uphold the rights of investors, workers, and the general public.

• They worked as laborers in order to provide a decent living for themselves, and to do a responsible job of raising their families.

     Since the mid-1970s, wealthy conservatives have pursued policies that have changed all that—at least for our most basic industries and businesses, for some of our most important professions, and, especially, for our political environment. Now, greed and materialism have replaced the virtues of fairness and justice. Profit, the bottom line, and personal wealth, in themselves, justify any kind of behavior as being morally acceptable:

• Most of our basic manufacturing industries have either left the country or they have adopted employment and pay practices that place our country back in the pre-1930 era.

• Big business has taken over the medical profession. They promote and give bonuses to the doctors and nurses who will give the stingiest care possible at the highest price. Naturally, they ignore patients who can't pay. Medical professionals who uphold their traditional values may be fired or blackballed.

• More people became journalists because they want to advance the interests of their conservative sponsors—the ones who financed their education, and can give them promotions, salary increases, power and prestige.

• More people go into business only to make incredible amounts of money in the shortest possible time, and nothing is unethical if it improves the bottom line—or if a person can't be convicted in a court of law.

• More people go into politics in order to advance the interests of those who give them the most money, which automatically means that wealthy investors gain control of the markets, keep workers' incomes as low as possible, and remove protections of the environment—and to hell with the rights of consumers, communities and the general public.

• As a result of the above, laborers have to work in two or more jobs in order to provide a marginal living for their families. Too many of them have precious little time to do a responsible job of raising families.

     The transfer of wealth and power from those who work to those who manage money, information, ideas, and people is just about complete. Unprincipled investors, corporate executives, accountants, consultants, investment bankers, and related professionals who have risen to the tops of their professions now have the power to command almost unlimited incomes for themselves.

     They do it by inserting themselves between those who produce products and services—workers, engineers, scientists, doctors, true "family farmers," nurses, truck drivers, and so on—and the consumers of those products and services. At every step, from financing a new business venture to advising corporations about how to prevent unions, they take huge amounts of money for themselves and leave relatively little for those who are the true producers of wealth in our country.

     It took conservatives at least 20 years to create this kind of political and economic system, although they've been working at it and making slow progress for the entire century. It also will take at least 20 years to reverse. It will be a long and difficult task, but it can be done.

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