Comments of a Nobody

When Gordan Gekko (played by Michael Douglas) in the 1987 film, Wall Street, pronounced that “Greed is good” and that “greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of evolutionary spirit” he somehow encapsulated what was felt to be the mood of business at that time. There were many who aspired to work in the financial sector, make vast sums of money on the stock markets, wear designer suits, shout a lot in Wall Street or the City of London, and clutch huge brick sized mobile phones at all times. Clambering over your colleagues to get to where you want to be was seen to be entirely acceptable and the emphasis was on self.

Somehow, as we reach the end of the noughties, the mood is somewhat different. In the U.S., executives of car manufacturers are reprimanded by senators for keeping their private jets when asking for government support, while here in the U.K. there is widespread revulsion at the bonuses being paid for senior banking staff as reward for failure. At the recent select committee hearing where bank executives were giving evidence on what the banks have played in bring the economy to breaking point, strangely “sorry” seemed to a be a very hard word to say. Bankers are now widely mistrusted and have perhaps fallen below estate agents as the most reviled profession.

Meanwhile, there seems to be a renewed interest in many parts of the world in living a simple, more frugal life. And Consumers have suddenly become more interested in the ethical behaviour of big companies, and particularly the behaviour of the executive staff.

So, now let us all chant the new mantra for our times - “Greed is bad”!