"Socialism is a great idea, but people are naturally greedy."
This is the most common objection to socialism.
To a certain extent, it's true. People often act in a greedy manner, taking more than their fair share at the lunch line or stealing bicycles. Yet, if people are greedy by nature, then every act of generosity would have to be forced. After all, if greed is natural, generosity must be unnatural.
Clearly, this is not the case. How many parents work extra long hours to give their children nice Christmas presents? How many people volunteer to tutor children in math and reading? How many decide to do something rewarding with their lives, like teaching, rather than being some yes-man on the corporate ladder?
People are both greedy and generous, selfish and self-sacraficing, depending on the situation they're in. Some people give money to the homeless, others are concerned about their coworkers' health, still more are trying to set their children up to go farther up the ladder of success than they did.
Rather than capitalism being created by "natural greed", capitalism has made greed seem natural.
If you are born into a world where you told, "You must get the highest grades in the class so that you can make more money than everyone else", of course you are going to strive to beat your schoolmates academically. If people are born into a society that encourages, breeds and rewards greed - it is no wonder that many people are greedy!
But as we have shown, how people behave is not an iron law. While at the same time capitalism tries to pit one group of workers against another for jobs, it also pushes them to struggle together.
Capitalism, the systematic exploitation of the majority for the benefit of a tiny minority, is a system that forces people to fight back, whether they like it or not.
Because the bosses at a given factory or office push the same wage cut onto the same group of workers, the workers come to realize that they have a common interest in fighting the boss. Even though some are black, some are gay, some are women, all the workers realize through their own day-to-day experience either 1 of 2 things: 1, that we can let things get worse and worse or 2, we can unite and fight back.
So capitalism forces workers to unite and fight in their own interests. But what about the bosses? Is it their greed that is causing all the misery, hunger and homeless we see in the world today?
The unique feature of capitalism, as opposed to any other form of class society, is the fact that profits are sought for their own sake. Accumulation occurs for its own sake. Because Ford is competeting with GM, Ford and GM are both going to try to bust their respective unions, drive down their workers' wages and cut their health plans. Ford and GM are forced by the pain of extinction to squeeze their workers, regardless of the whims of the CEOs as individuals.
The idea that "People are naturally greedy" is on par with the idea during the Middle Ages that, "Some are born to rule, and some are born to be ruled", some are born Kings, others are born peasants. Every ruling class, be they king or capitalist, wants people to think their rule is "eternal" and "natural". This is so that they can justify the status quo, so that the oppressed and exploited classes don't challenge their rule, their law, their order.
Capitalism distorts human nature and breeds greed. Socialism will do the opposite, ensuring that everyone has enough to eat and a decent place to stay. Resources will be devoted to developing the creative abilities that are suppressed under capitalism in the struggle to get by. In the struggle for a socialist society, solidarity with their fellow workers, black, white, gay, straight, men, women, within this nation and without, is the key to winning that struggle.
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