To paraphrase Gordon Gecko: Greed, in a word, is what makes capitalism work. If we take "Greed" to mean "Self interest", it is also what makes evolution work in a Darwinian sense. The fittest survive, while the weaker wilt. As illustrated in many socialist societies, e.g. USSR, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, etc. extreme socialism does not work as it works against the all too human psychology of incentive for work and requires military force to enforce its ideals. Therefore, to condemn the recent financial crisis as an excess of greed is to condemn human nature, and the very process that made us humans.
People who work for banks are employed specifically for their ability to make creative deals that are profitable to their shareholders. In this instance, the internal controls to ensure deals made were consistent with long-term profitability were faulty -- most likely due to a misunderstanding of the risks involved due to a common mistake in interpreting statistics. This will surely lead to private firms correcting such controls and tying reward to shareholder value. We don't need more government regulation to tell banks what they already know: there is a fissure in the system that can cost them (and taxpayers) billions.
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