Greed with Compassion is Good

Tristan – some time ago you and I had a long debate about this over Rickard’s Red about your Rich vs. Poor Marxist rhetoric, and this is a semi-followup to your comment and Mr. Campbell's previous post.

There are rich and poor in every society – regardless of economic system – but I firmly believe that Canada is perhaps today the most egalitarian society in the world. While there may not be equality of income, there is equality of opportunity. There is a great deal of social mobility in our society. Any man or woman with talent, dedication, and a bit of luck can aspire to his or her dreams.

I came from a society with very limited opportunities, where often one’s destiny was largely determined by birtright. The people have a very fatalistic outlook on life, and many believe that one’s destiny is mapped by the stars. Astrology and superstition governs Hindu society like no other – it dictates what path you pursue, who you marry. I think this is the biggest bullshit in the world, and can account for the one-time economic stagnation of South Asia (ever hear of the Hindu rate of growth?).

Now with Manmohan Singh’s 1991 market reforms - repealing useless bureaucracy and the Licence Raj, liberalizing the economy and opening India up to offshore investment - things are improving. In particular, South India has emerged as a hub for IT and professional services, offshoring/outsourcing, and where office parks now occupy once-luscious paddy fields. With steady 7-8% economic growth for over a decade, no one disses India for its backward stagnation anymore; hundreds of millions have entered the middle class in the new open economy. All the more remarkable, in India – a democracy with an 800 million Hindu majority - the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is Sikh, the President Abdul Kalaam is a Tamil Muslim, and the leader of the Congress Party is Sonia Gandhi, an Italian Roman Catholic! How’s that for diversity?!

I love dynamic market economies. I love capitalism. What fuels capitalism? Greed. But, to modify a Gordon Gekko quote, "Greed - with compassion - is good!". It’s an innate part of human nature. The beauty and ingenuity of capitalism is that it channels these innate forces of human nature – greed & competition - into productive endeavours that have raised living standards for everyone to unprecedented levels.

Moreover, a rising tide lifts all boats. The so-called poor of our society live like royalty! They have quality shelter, colour TV + cable, microwaves, refrigeration, central heating & indoor plumbing – things the middle-class of many countries can only dream of – an opulence that would have made the Sun King blink! I remember reading this quote from a villager in India: "I want to move to America. I want to move to a country where poor people are fat."

Of course pure unbridled capitalism is not good, and market economies need to be regulated. Hong Kong - which I think of as capitalism on steroids - has the highest % of millionaires of any society. But HK also has a tremendous disparity in wealth, including some people that literally live in cages. A social infrastructure & welfare state certainly must be in place, one that grants quality healthcare & education access to all regardless of one's means.

The success of Anglo-offshoot societies like the US, Canada and Australia are in large part accounted for by the immigrant (some would say Protestant – nowadays Confucian) ethic. Just look around us! 250,000 new Canadians come to our country every year! People are voting with their feet! If we opened our borders, millions would come to our nation. Immigrants see Canada as an ideal society – otherwise they wouldn't be coming in droves, and our parents and forefathers wouldn't have come! Often it's the native-born that are far too idle, complacent, indolent – they fail to take advantage of the opportunities before them, and far too often blame society for their substandard condition!

A truly just society must ensure that every man and woman has the opportunity to fulfill his or her aspirations. The greatness of a society like Canada is that we've successfully combined free market capitalism with a first-class social infrastructure while according equal opportunity to everyone.