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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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 OPINION 
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'The Oracle' Forgot One Thing: We're Greedy

Founding fathers quickly figured out people couldn't be trusted to be selfless

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(Newser) – If those who ignore history repeat it, Alan Greenspan must have slept through a few Constitutional history classes. In promoting the risky derivatives market, the former Federal Reserve chairman was depending on individuals' restraint and care for the greater good. But Americans just aren't that altruistic, as the Founding Fathers figured out, Eric Lane and Michael Oreskes write in the Los Angeles Times.

In 1776, the nation's leaders so believed in public virtue that they created a weak central government—and soon came to regret it. At the Constitutional Convention 11 years later, they forged checks and balances to offset human selfishness. Greenspan might have done the same, write Lane and Oreskes: "A rereading of American History 101 would have reminded him that the framers already went through the same rude awakening about human nature."

Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, speaks during the 91st LIMRA International Annual Meeting in this Oct. 30, 2007 file photo in Boston.
Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, speaks during the 91st LIMRA International Annual Meeting in this Oct. 30, 2007 file photo in Boston.   (AP Photo)
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan believed in the basic good of human beings to overcome greed and selfishness. Big mistake.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan believed in the basic good of human beings to overcome greed and selfishness. Big mistake.   (AP Photo/Shiho Fukada)
George Washington was one of the first of the Founding Fathers to realize that the an optimistic view and weak central government would never work.
George Washington was one of the first of the Founding Fathers to realize that the an optimistic view and weak central government would never work.   (Flickr)
After the Revolutionary War, many of the new nation's leaders thought the country was full of noble and selfless people who could
After the Revolutionary War, many of the new nation's leaders thought the country was full of noble and selfless people who could "begin the world over again," as Thomas Paine put it.   (Flickr)
Between the end of British rule and the framing of the Constitution, America's new leaders realized that giving people too much benefit of the doubt was a dangerous proposition.
Between the end of British rule and the framing of the Constitution, America's new leaders realized that giving people too much benefit of the doubt was a dangerous proposition.   (Flickr)
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What the framers had learned over the 11 years that separated independence from the Constitutional Convention was that people could not be counted on to suppress their greed and self-interest. - Eric Lane and Michael Oreskes, Los Angeles Times

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