selfish motivations

This morning I went to the Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable, where we got to hear several Georgia Senators and Representatives talk about environmental issues. My new hero in the Georgia Legislature is Brian Thomas, who's only in his second year in the legislature, but had a slew of good ideas to share.

My favorite idea on his list is, unfortunately, probably not going to turn into a bill this year. But I'm glad that it's at least being talked about. He's been meeting with various people connected with energy companies in an effort to figure out the best way to restructure the energy rate system. The problem is that right now, energy companies have no motivation to encourage customers to become more energy-efficient, because the companies make money based on how many kilowatts a customer uses. So it's in their best interest to keep customers using as many kilowatts as possible. Brian Thomas is talking about different ways that the rate structure could be changed so that energy companies can make more money when a customer is more energy efficient. The part that makes this complicated, of course, is the fact that if it cost more to the customer to use less energy, then of course the customer's incentive to become more energy-efficient would be destroyed. Is there any way to provide economic incentives on both sides for energy efficiency? If both sides are saving money, then where would the money come from?

I don't envy Brian Thomas's efforts to figure out this problem, although, as I said, I do admire it. But at the same time, I can't help but think that it's as much a flaw in our economic system as an impossible riddle that needs to be solved. And it leads me to the problem that I've always had with completely unregulated markets: they can only be driven by selfish motivations.

I've often heard the argument that this flaw is also the greatest strength of capitalism: it depends on human nature, and that's what makes it so successful. Because it bases its functioning on the fact of sinfulness and greed, it's a reliable system. But I can't bring myself to see this as something to be proud of. Do I really want to succeed in a system that basis its success on selfishness and greed?

And is it really Christian to do so? I've heard it argued that Christianity teaches that we are sinners, and so it's good that we have a system that acknowledges--and even depends on--our sinfulness. But Christianity also teaches that we should not sin--Christ taught, in fact, that we should be perfect. And even if that's impossible, is that any reason to base our entire economic system around the expectation that everyone will always be as selfish and greedy as possible?

I'm sure I'll be accused of criticizing a system without having any positive alternative solutions, and that accusation will be well-founded. I don't have any solutions. But sometimes pointing out the problem can be the beginning of a solution. And I do think--I have for a long time thought--that our system of relying on greed as a sole motivating factor is intrinsically a problem. I believe there is a way that we could encourage individuals, and companies, and even countries, to be motivated not just by what is most selfishly beneficially for them, but also by what is right.