{
  "id": 20084179,
  "title": "Greed dependence would cause an implosion in neoliberalism",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/greed-dependence-would-cause-an-implosion-in-neoliberalism",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-14T23:45:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Island Sri Lanka",
    "slug": "the-island-sri-lanka",
    "url": "http://island.lk/greed-dependence-would-cause-an-implosion-in-neoliberalism/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Neoliberalism's fundamental belief that greed is a functional virtue has led to a structural dependence on this characteristic through various mechanisms. To achieve rapid capital gains, advanced economies have moved away from building infrastructure and supporting jobs in favor of speculative finance. Profit became more important than human development, resulting in stagnant wages for working and middle-class individuals while corporate profits soared. This situation created a demand for cheap credit to maintain consumer spending, which only further fueled debt bubbles. When consumers failed to meet their obligations and debt bubbles burst, the state became the \"lender of last resort,\" saving corporations at the expense of individuals.\n\nThe privatization and austerity measures targeting public services such as healthcare, affordable housing, and education have led to extreme wealth inequality and diminished social welfare. Neoliberalism's inability to harm the corporate world at the expense of public good has been revealed in its symptoms. Initial expectations of tax cuts and deregulation generating widespread prosperity have not materialized; instead, wealth accumulation has enriched the top 1% while crippling the purchasing power of the majority.\n\nUnfettered free trade and globalization were intended to ensure borderless stability, but instead, supply chain vulnerabilities have prompted a return to protectionism and tariff wars. The market economy's champions anticipated markets to foster individual liberty and protect open societies, but rampant inequality and economic insecurity have bred deep institutional distrust, a loss of confidence in democratic governance, and sharp populist reactions from both political left and right. The youth-led unrest in Europe is the latest manifestation of the apparent failure of the global economic system.\n\nThe economic aspect of the apparent failure of neoliberalism includes the realization that an economy built solely around capital returns eventually lacks the stability it needs to survive. Psychologically, the greed and selfishness that were once considered positive for enterprise and competitiveness are now being recognized as detrimental to the human system. As profit surges while wages stagnate and purchasing power of the working class diminishes, the viability of capitalism comes into question, as consumerism cannot thrive without sufficient consumer spending power.\n\nThe IMF and the World Bank have been restructured to design the world economic order to suit neoliberal policies. Western philosophers failed to study the psychology of greed in depth, allowing the damaging effects to go unnoticed. While the Bible and Jesus Christ advised against avarice, John Calvin, a 16th-century French theologian, claimed that making profit was morally acceptable within Christianity, effectively endorsing unfettered capitalism. Conversely, the Buddha saw greed as a fallacy and delved deeply into the psychology of greed, finding the means to control it. The Buddha's teachings suggest that resolving poverty (suffering) requires bringing greed under control.\n\nThe climate change crisis, caused by excessive human greed, is a direct result of adopting consumerism as the driving force of the present world order, which is inherently built on neoliberalism. The market heavily depends on human greed, which can be insatiable, particularly when the capitalist system continually produces enticing attractions. Paradoxically, if greed is controlled, this economic system might collapse. Consumerism has been made the purpose of existence to perpetuate greed. The free market and greed mutually reinforce each other, leading to a cyclical dependency.",
  "summary": "BY N.A. de S. Amaratunga Neoliberalism operates on the core philosophical premise that greed is a functional virtue. Popularised by thinkers like Milton Friedman and politically implemented by the Reagan and Thatcher administrations, in the US and the UK, respectively, the doctrine argues that unrestrained individual self-interest and profit maximisation naturally yield the most efficient […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Neoliberalism's belief in greed as a functional virtue has led to structural dependence on it.",
    "Privatization and austerity measures have increased wealth inequality and diminished social welfare."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}