To frame that, I just finished reading The Big Short by Michael Lewis (all about the sub-prime mortgage loan crisis and the ensuing catastrophe). My boss encouraged me to read it (including buying me a copy) and kept commenting on how greedy/evil the bankers are. Obviously drawing the parallels to "Wall Street" and "Wall Street 2" would be too easy, so I'll just let them be.
Why is it that I feel more interest and empathy towards the so-called villains in these tales? Why do I not really care about the people who were suckered into mortgages so far above their potential to pay them that it boggles the mind?
I don't consider myself evil, but maybe the label "materialistic" would be one that fits me to a T. Yes, I like nice things, and yes, I want to be wealthy. Why does being wealthy automatically mean that you're evil? I understand that screwing people over to become wealthy is generally an unaccepted position, but at the same time, how many of them wouldn't choose to do the same to me if they had the chance? Isn't it human nature to look out for the good of ones self (Citing Cracked.com might seem strange, but The MonkeySphere is possibly the clearest written way to explain what I mean).
I wasn't really planning on going anywhere with this, so I'll just leave it with a quote from Gordon Gekko.
"The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind."
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