IRVINE, CA--Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan blames alleged corporate crookedness on the "infectious greed" of CEOs, but, says Elan Journo, writer for the Ayn Rand Institute, too many of America's CEOs are not "greedy" enough.
      On Greenspan's view, which virtually all public voices now embrace, "businessmen are a breed of predators, eager to lie, cheat and steal in pursuit of profit. In other words, the extent to which people are motivated by making money is the extent to which they are motivated to be crooks."
      But, contends Mr. Journo, "there is far more wealth to be achieved by a consistent, long-range policy of honesty--by creating a quality product and maintaining the company's reputation over many years--than by squeezing out some range-of-the-moment advantage. Engaging in fraud undercuts a company's value--as the market is amply demonstrating. What money-making requires is honesty and integrity. And the 'greedier' a businessman is--the more he seeks to earn a profit--the more committed he must be to scrupulous practices."
      As Mr. Journo notes ironically: "four decades ago, an astute economist got it right when he observed that 'it is precisely the "greed" of the businessman or, more appropriately, his profit-seeking, which is the unexcelled protector of the consumer.' That economist, writing in Ayn Rand's Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, was Alan Greenspan."