“The Progressive perspective on ‘greed’ is that it’s a constant problem in the private sector but somehow recedes when government takes over. I wonder exactly when a politician’s self-interest evaporates and his altruistic compassion kicks in?” That quote is from Lawrence Reed in The Freeman discussing one of the ditzier Cliches of Progressivism. The existence of large government creates the very mechanism for circumventing market forces, for the cronyism reviled by honest thinkers on the Right and the Left. Indeed, large government has always been demanded by established interests who wish to destroy competition, establish monopoly power, and secure lucrative public contracts.

I also like this: “… in a free market, you quickly realize that to satisfy the self-interest that some critics are quick to dismiss as ‘greed,’ you can’t put a crown on your head, wrap a robe around yourself and demand that the peasants cough up their shekels. You have to produce, create, trade, invest, and employ. You have to provide goods or services that willing customers (not taxpaying captives) will choose to buy and hopefully more than just once. Your ‘greed’ gets translated into life-enhancing things for other people.”