Selfish Entrepreneurs Like Branson and Musk Will Keep The Human Race In Existence

Greed (or covetousness) is often the opening act for wide-scale suffering, poverty, crime, conflict, and death. It is one of the Bible's seven deadly sins, after all.

Greed and tyranny are first-generational cousins. Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was ousted from power in 1979 after an 8-year authoritarian reign. In the Uganda-Tanzania War, his overestimation of his army and underestimation of Tanzania's army led to Uganda's defeat. He lived in exile in Saudi Arabia until he died in 2003. It all started with greed. His insatiable thirst for power drove him to alienate, extort, and murder millions of people.

Former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange Bernie Madoff was overcome with greed. How else can you describe a successful financier running the largest Ponzi scheme in American history?

Greed is dangerous and deadly. Selfishness, when harnessed and appropriately checked, is a needed ingredient for success. We are hardwired to act in our self-interest. There isn't anything wrong with that. It has been and will continue to be the driving force behind many of our first-world innovations. For example, Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe's self-interest drove them to create MySpace, which paved the way for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These platforms provide endless avenues for economic growth and open doors of opportunity for millions of people. Unfortunately, greed has led to the monopolistic tyranny these platforms enjoy. 

Even if it teeters over the line a little bit, selfishness can be healthy for all humankind. (Remember, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance.) Case and point is Richard Branson's latest space venture, Unity 22.

Branson, the founder of the multi-billion dollar conglomerate Virgin Group and whose net worth is estimated at nearly $6 billion, launched the first space tourism test rocket from his outlet, Virgin Galactic, over the weekend. 

The vessel launched from its base in New Mexico and flew 53 miles above Earth before landing safely back at base. Branson and five others were aboard, although the vessel can comfortably fit eight. The only hiccup was a 90-minute weather delay before launch. Nevertheless, it was an astounding success.

Privately-funded space tourism is a business ready for take-off (pardon the pun; I couldn't help myself). Over 95% of human flights into space have been with government approval and assistance in the last half-century. With more government overreach en vogue these days, space tourism and, hopefully, space exploration without big brother's paws all over it provides libertarians with a glimmer of hope for the future. Don't tread on my spaceships!

With other tycoons, like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, not far behind in the space race, local economies stand to be the immediate beneficiaries. Virgin Galactic is expected to begin commercial flights next year. Prices will start at $250,000, which is far too expensive for many Americans. However, as more players enter the industry, free-market capitalism will take effect and eventually drive the cost down. For example, as more companies developed electric cars, they are far less expensive today than in the 1900s.

More players in the space race mean more chances for business and economic growth. States, such as New Mexico, hosting space tourism bases could potentially see a massive boon to their economies. Of course, the facilities themselves would need people to run and maintain them. Tourist attractions, merchandise, and possibly even museums and theme parks could follow suit.

If these ventures are successful, there would be more opportunities to invest in the stock market. As of this writing, Virgin Galactic's stock price sits below $39 a share. I am not a financial guru, but that does not sound like a bad long-term investment.

Furthermore, privately-owned space exploration would help propel the human race forward if or when we destroy Earth to the point where it is uninhabitable. Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, has emphasized that humans need to be a multi-planet species. That is the aim of his SpaceX venture.

"It's been now almost half a century since humans were last on the moon. That's too long, we need to get back there and have a permanent base on the moon — again, like a big permanently occupied base on the moon. And then build a city on Mars to become a spacefaring civilization, a multi-planet species," said Musk back in April.

Musk and Branson are capitalists in the truest sense of the word. They want to make as much money and wield as much influence as they possibly can. Selfish? Perhaps, but it's not greedy per se. A person who succumbs to greed would not care if people they do not know or care about can live on Mars or the Moon. Nor would they care about growing the economies in which they do business. The Ugandan economy collapsed under Idi Amin. Greed is when a business tycoon like Jeff Bezos works in lockstep with government officials and the Democrat elite. 

Selfishness will keep humans in existence for many millennia to come. Greed will make us extinct.