Let's not call it greed, Professor Haycox, let's call it individualism because that's what it really is in non-partisan terms. It is not everyone's cup of tea, but at the time it was conceived a couple of centuries ago or so, it was very new, and it served as an immense magnet to immigrants from Europe. 

Although there are plenty of examples of greed in our society, it is a fact that Americans want the same things that hominids have wanted for the past million of years or so: a safe place to have a family, resources to feed that family, and freedom to do what we want to do. We Americans are genetically predisposed by our immigrant roots to fight for these things a little more forcefully that others would. The people who weren't willing to change their scenery stayed where they were. America is composed, mostly, of the children of the world's restless.

We don't need academics to shame us. We need academics to help us learn to channel our individualism in mutually beneficial ways.