Gordon Gecko* was wrong. Greed is not good. Competition is good.
Competition forces everyone to do better, to think, to try new things
and to be creative. Competition is constructive. Greed on the other hand
is destructive. Greed is to competition what nymphomania is to sex. Greed
undermines all of the positive effects of competition to satisfy a maniacal
lust.
It's just too much of a good thing.
Compared to real life, competition on the playing field of amateur and
professional sports is charmingly simplistic. In sports there are referees
and umpires who observe the game and make sure the rules are enforced.
Personal fouls and un sportsmanlike conduct are penalized. In real life we
also have rules. We call them "laws." But there is rarely an enforcer
watching
and unless caught breaking them, there are no consequences. Since there
is
rarely a crowd, there is no one to question their calls. Individuals
with integrity
are at a distinct disadvantage.
In sports there are two or more players. In real life, the most glaring
perversion
of the competitive spirit is the presence of monopolies. The surest way to
satisfy
the lust for victory is to eliminate the competition before the game begins.
There
is no need to work hard. No need to improve. No need to be creative. No
need
to deliver results. There is no competition! Why bother?
Imagine a baseball game dominated by greed. A wealthy sponsor owns the
the stadium, both teams, and the umpires. The stands are filled with
employee's
of the sponsor. They are told which team to root for or loose their jobs.
The
concession stands are also owned by the sponsor and the employee's must
give
back a significant amount of their already meager salaries to purchase
exorbitantly priced hot dogs and beer.
Game after game the employees show up to root for the designated winner.
When the designated looser hits a ball out of the park and the umpire calls
it a foul, some of them moan and say "Oh! Too bad!" but most cheer wildly.
When the designated winner is tagged out by a mile and the umpire calls him
safe, no one is outraged. Despite this obvious corruption of truth,
they cheer
as if their lives depended on it ... because they do. The beauty of
the neatly
trimmed playing field and the occasional charity of a fair call are the only
consolation for the sacrifice of their poor lost souls.
In such an environment would there be any incentive for the teams to
practice?
Would the players have to work hard to run faster? Would they need to lift
weights
and practice their swings to hit home runs? No. They would become fat and
lazy
and lumber around the diamond scratching their behinds.
In a society dominated by greed a similar end results. There is no incentive
to
improve when victory is arbitrarily decided by a ruling class. Laziness is
encouraged.
Hard work, innovation, and creativity are not rewarded. In the absence of
objective
and impartial judges true competition can not exist. A race
to the bottom of human
accomplishment hardly qualifies. It makes no difference if the arbiter is
a corporation,
government, or a handful of wealthy aristocrats. Stagnation and decline
are inevitable.
* A fictional character in the motion picture "Wall Street"
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