Why is capitalism not a compulsive disorder?!

Why is capitalism not a compulsive disorder?

I mean, if I was a compulsive hand washer or door slammer or compulsive liar, I'd get medical treatment. But compulsive seeking of money is OK?

3 weeks ago
Ok, nice answers, but how much will you pay me for 10 points? LOL.

The importance of diseases is often ranked according to how much they 'drain' the economy (by preventing people from working, and by requiring expensive treatment).

It might be possible to list 'negative diseases' in the same way. Compulsive behaviour which promotes the economy might be considered to be a disease, but it is moved so far down the scale of importance that it becomes impossible to provide resources for treating it. It might even be argued that a 'disease' of this sort should be left as 'uncured' as possible, to generate revenue for the treatment of other things.

We do live in a pretty crazy world, and the respect that is shown to economic success is pretty hard to understand, especially when it is obvious that financial gain is only possible at the expense of some other aspect of life.

Many cultural trends are not understood until many centuries after they have happened; even then the historians often debate their real significance. Capitalism seems very convenient to those who 'benefit' from it; the disadvantages are easier to ignore.