Wallstreet
"Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works." If any three simple sentences could sum up the 80s, those are probably the ones. The 1980s were an age of illusions, one that was hedonistic in nature and self-loathing in practice. As Haynes Johnson recalls, it was "a society favored with material riches beyond measure and a political system whose freedoms made it the envy of every nation on earth." Released in 1987, Oliver Stone's Wall Street was made in the height of 80s greed and materialism. The film revolves around the actions of two main characters, Bud Fox and Gordon Gekko. Bud is a young stockbroker who comes from a working-class family and Gekko is a millionaire whom Bud admires and longs to be associated with. The film is successful at pointing out how tragic it is to trade in morality for money. The character of Gordon Gekko personifies this message, and yet receives a standing ovation at a stockholders meeting after delivering a "greed is good" speech. The underlying theme of the movie, however, is that greed is bad. Economist George Gilder would say that individuals like Gekko who pursue only their self-interests are led, "as by an invisible hand," toward a greater welfare state. He says that people pursuing se
lf-interest demand comfort and security and that they don't take the risks that result in growth and achievement. In Wealth and Poverty, Gilder presents the idea that the competitive activity of men, attempting to support their families, is a crucial impulse of economic growth. He believes that men have an innate behavior of having to support themselves and their families and that they have a competitive drive that makes them want to succeed. Men have to perform in order to please women in a way that women don't have to perform in order to please men. It is like if you ask the average man why he works, he will likely pull out his wallet and show you a picture of his wife and kids. He also suggests that men work to impress other men and their peers, almost as if saying that men do these things so that they can boast about them afterwards. This competitive drive can be seen in Gordon Gekko as he boasts to Bud, "You see that building over there? I bought it three years ago. My first real estate transaction. I sold it ten months later and made $800,000 profit. It was better than sex!" Gilder also relies heavily on defining a workable family unit and relates the failure in the economy to the breakup of the modern family. The male gets, in exchange for his support, warm food, a warm bed, warm pleasantries, and sexual satisfaction. "The chief problem is the anguish inflicted on both the husband and the wife and thus on their relationship when the woman is forced to work despite the intensely increasing need for her in the home." Gilder believes that when the family is reestablished, so will the economy establish itself strong and fair. George Gilder is a strong supporter of capitalism when it starts with "giving," and he believes that this giving will eventually turn it into profits, being beneficial to all of society. He believes that "greed is an appetite for unneeded and unearned wealth and power. The truly greedy seek comfort and security first. They seek goods and clout they have not earned. Because the best and safest way to gain unearned pay is to get the state to take it from others, greed leads, as by an invisible hand, toward ever more government action - to socialism, not capitalism." The greed that is described here characterizes Gordon Gekko when he says, "I don't throw darts. I bet on sure things." Free enterprise to Gordon Gekko is like a game and the money that is involved is merely a way of keeping score. It is not the money that captivates Gekko but rather the sensation that he has won and come out on top. In order for capitalism to work, the investor must give his money freely but with Gekko, his greediness keeps him from doing so. His sole purpose of investment is to create money for him, not to help others in society. Gilder would say that this would e
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Approximate Word count = 1898
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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