Now that capitalism has beaten communism, let's hope greed doesn't wind up destroying the victor.
As one loyal believer in democracy and capitalism, I must wonder.We've just emerged in the United States from a decade in which capitalism had virtual free rein. It produced some of the greatest economic growth in our history.
But that wasn't all.
It also featured some of the worst excesses of greed the nation has seen since the shenanigans of the railroad barons in the 19th century.
It was greed, pure and simple, that fueled the savings and loan scandal, as well as the financial scandals on Wall Street and points west.
And despite the immense notoriety surrounding those disasters, greed is alive and well and thriving and may still be affecting the nation's well-being.
A good example is what's happening in American industry.
These have been dark times for U.S. business. Many giant corporations are in deep trouble and losing money.
Industry has gotten itself in a deep rut and is unable to compete with Japan and other countries.
But if you look at what top executives in many of those companies are raking down in salary, bonuses, stock and various other perks, you'd think business was booming.
President Bush took 21 American business leaders to Japan this week, including 12 CEOs of major corporations.
The Wall Street Journal reports that combined annual compensation of the dozen top guns was $25 million last year.
Making the trip are the heads of Detroit's Big Three automakers who seem to be doing a whole lot better than their companies these days.
Biggest star in the payroll department is Lee Iacocca of Chrysler.
The Journal reported he got $4.65 million direct compensation last year and is also getting 62,500 shares of Chrysler stock per quarter (about $750,000) to remain on the job beyond the year's end.
Robert Stempel, CEO of General Motors, recently announced the firm will close 21 factories and lay off 74,000 people in the next three years.
Yet Stempel was paid $2.18 million in direct and deferred pay last year.
Also along on the Bush trip is Ford's Harold Polig, who received $1.29 million in direct total pay last year.
Japanese top executives, who get between $300,000 and $400,000, complain about American salaries.
It would appear difficult for high-paid U.S. auto magnates to complain about "unfair" competition from Japan as they continue to draw huge compensation amid big losses.
Normally you would expect executive compensation to soar as the result of rising profits. What seems different today is that the top dogs' pay rises in spectacular fashion as profits go down.
When making more money becomes the primary motivation for business it automatically downgrades the importance of such things as product quality and consumer satisfaction.
Greed is a growth industry in America and certainly isn't confined to business.
It sells millions of lottery tickets.
It sells magazines with $10 million prizes.
It is generating a major spread of legal gambling.
Plus much more.
It may have already contributed to the decline of American manufacturing competitiveness.
It could eventually destroy capitalism, and democracy along with it.
(Ralph Looney, former editor of the Rocky Mountain News at Denver and the Albuquerque Tribune, writes a weekly commentary at Scripps Howard News Service.)