People think that when you argue that way, you’re arguing for selfishness, for greed. That’s utter nonsense! The people who are in positions in a political hierarchy, are also selfish and greedy. Man kind is selfish and greedy.

Friedman then concludes with some insightful thoughts about government waste:

Thank god for government waste. If government is doing bad things, then it’s only the waste that prevents the harm from being greater. And the waste in government has two very important elements. Number one: If government were now spending the amount it now spends, which is 40% of our income (governments federal state and local in the United States have total spending which equals 40% of total national income) if they were spending that efficiently, we’d be slaves now. And in the second place, the waste is so obvious that it arouses a counter movement in the population at large. People are disillusioned by government and it increases the change that they will recognize where this road is taking them and get off that train before it goes all the way.

My Mac’s dictionary defines the term “greedy” as

greedy
having or showing an intense and selfish desire for something, esp. wealth or power : greedy thieves who plundered a defense contractor.

I propose that the key word here is selfish. If you want to possess something and you’re selfish about it, then you’re greedy. All right, let’s look at what it means to be selfish.

selfish
(of a person, action, or motive) lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or

So if being selfish means to lack consideration for others, then to be greedy, you must want to acquire possessions while having no consideration for others.

Desiring wealth is not enough. To be greedy you must desire wealth while trampling on the rights of others!

Now, what does typically happen under capitalism? Someone makes something someone else wants and exchanges it for money, while making profit. If both parties execute the exchange willingly with no false pretenses, i.e. cheating and theft, then both parties benefit from the exchange. And if both parties benefit, then the exchange can’t be lacking consideration for others.

Any cheating and theft should be dealt with in the legal or criminal system, letting the government exercise one of its few functions that actually does make good sense.

Will cheating and theft happen under capitalism? Of course. But are those fundamental flaws of capitalism? No they are not. They are a part of human nature. There will be cheats and thieves regardless. In fact, socialism, a system in which some people (the government) commandeer the wealth of others with no recourse for the latter group is the ultimate hotbed for cheats and thieves.

I would even go as far as saying that, in comparison to capitalism, socialism is the system of greed. Why? Let’s look at what it means to be greedy again: To be greedy you must desire wealth while trampling on the rights of others. Under socialism, wealth is forcefully taken from some, which is a violation of their rights, and given to others. So are those who desire socialism greedy? At the very least, it seems quite close to being the case. You be the judge.