Self-righteous vitriol is rampant these days. Hurling "greed" at Wall Street has become a popular sport, but I submit that participation in the sport is a hopelessly hypocritical endeavor.
Isn't any income above a subsistence level inherently "greedy"? By definition, any amount beyond subsistence levels is not necessary. It only serves to further one's material interests in excessive comforts.
Moreover, the existence of a world of "rational actors" -- individuals who operate to maximize their own self-interests -- is the underlying assumption of most of public policy. What is so surprising about financiers being rational actors?
Do we really think that only a select group of businessmen maintain profit-maximizing motives (ie. greed, or "hubris" if you really want to go self-righteous, pseudo-intellectual)?
If we're ridiculing those who are greedy, the criticism should not stop at the financial sector. Doubtless, we all are regularly driven by the same motives of self-interest maximization.
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