In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith outlines the principle that selfish market participants unknowingly maximize the well-being of society as a whole. The idea of ​​the “invisible hand” originated in 1776 and has been the basis for how our economy works today. When a company provides goods and services to a customer, it is never out of the kindness of its heart, but out of greed for money. Greed is what motivates companies to provide better services and products. Without greed, the creation of companies like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft would not have been possible. Instead, the world would be left with non-profit organizations, which couldn't be bothered to improve their products and services due to a lack of competition and the drive to be the best. This ultimately explains why greed is good for the economy and why people nowadays can't live without it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Greed is everywhere, and in most cases, it's good. For example, Monta Vista students are inadvertently greedy, seeking more knowledge and trying to get the best grades possible. Does this greed make them a bad person? Of course not, in fact, those with the best grades and the hunger for knowledge contribute the most to society. It is only the textbook definition that gives greed a negative connotation, defining it as having an “intense selfish desire” when in reality it is wanting more than you need. This ties into rational self-interest, one of the three general principles of economics. People want to reduce costs and maximize benefits, getting more than they need for a sustainable life. If greed were truly a bad thing, people wouldn't need incentives or benefits, they would give out of the kindness of their hearts. However, the world works with only money and other incentives in mind. Money, the greatest incentive, is what motivates these companies to produce products that can compete with other companies and gain maximum revenue. A simple example includes a non-profit organization and a for-profit company. Both entities offer the same service, which is lifeguard training. The non-profit organization will provide its mediocre services for free out of the kindness of its heart, but the for-profit company will compete with other companies and, accordingly, improve its services to have a better chance of winning the customer's wallet . The company doesn't necessarily care about the customer, they only care about their money. This connects to Smith's "invisible hand" principle because the company's self-interest unconsciously improves the quality of lifeguard training because companies will always try to compete and surpass the service quality of others. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers. Get a custom essay. That's why the quality of goods and services has improved year after year. Companies compete in a particular area of ​​interest and develop their ideas to be as successful as possible. Many entrepreneurs apply this philosophy to maximize their chances of creating a profitable business. Without greed, humans would regress and many of the things we have today would disappear. It's hard to imagine what life would be like without human greed, but the world would certainly lack progress and technology would not be as advanced as it is today. At the time Adam Smith spoke of the principle of the “invisible hand” there were neither.