greed is good
Selfishness as virtue
A catchphrase from the 1987 film *Wall Street*, where the character Gordon Gekko argues that greed drives progress and creates wealth.
The line became shorthand for aggressive capitalism and the pursuit of profit without moral restraint.
It's used both earnestly by those who believe self-interest benefits society and sarcastically to critique unchecked materialism: Their whole company philosophy is basically "greed is good." The phrase often signals ethical debate about markets and motivation.
- avariceExcessive desire for riches
- Wall StreetAmerican finance hub
- corporate raiderHostile acquisition specialist
- hostile takeoverUnwanted corporate buyout attempt
- capitalismPrivate profit-based economy
dog eat dog · ambition · wealth · filthy rich · ruthless · corporate · power · money · excess · materialism · hustle · power suit · corner office · cutthroat · profit · acquisition · hoarding · selfishness
- greedavarice, covetousness, cupidity, materialism, misers
- proverbsproverbs, sayings, maxims, adages, aphorisms
- self-interestself-interest, selfishness, egoism, look out for number one, every man for himself
greed is goodeconomic justice
Fair allocation of resources
socialism · wealth redistribution · collective ownership · fair share · social democracy
greed is goodless is more
Restraint creates impact
simple living · asceticism · anti-materialism · sufficiency · enough is enough
greed, good, greedy, greedily, greediness, goods, goodness, goodly