Greed From Gordon Gekko to David Hume |
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| Author:
| Sutherland, Stewart |
| Series title: | Haus Curiosities Ser. |
| ISBN: | 978-1-908323-79-8 |
| Publication Date: | May 2015 |
| Publisher: | Haus Publishing
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | USD $16.95 |
Book Description:
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In a riveting scene in the film Wall Street, Gordon Gekko proclaims ‘Greed is good’. The great philosopher David Hume, on the contrary, describes greed as the most destructive of the vices. The banking debacle and the continuing row about bonuses has placed the controversial issue of greed at the very heart of how we view our society. So is Gekko’s maxim merely in need of some moderation? After all, incentives are essential to achieve results. Or...
More Description
In a riveting scene in the film Wall Street, Gordon Gekko proclaims ‘Greed is good’. The great philosopher David Hume, on the contrary, describes greed as the most destructive of the vices. The banking debacle and the continuing row about bonuses has placed the controversial issue of greed at the very heart of how we view our society. So is Gekko’s maxim merely in need of some moderation? After all, incentives are essential to achieve results. Or is it Hume who, uncharacteristically in this instance, lacks moderation? His claim being that greed is ‘directly destructive of society’. Can this be true? In this powerful and hugely relevant essay, Sutherland picks apart these two conflicting notions and discusses how we might approach the problem of greed in the modern age.