In a capitalist system, you actually have an obligation to get as much of the pie as you can. Fuck being seen as greedy; greed is the entire basis of capitalism

In a capitalist system, you actually have an obligation to get as much of the pie as you can. Fuck being seen as greedy; greed is the entire basis of capitalism. This doesn't mean resorting to illegal / unethical measures; but it does mean always negotiating to get a better deal. This goes from the top of the economy all the way down to the bottom. I'll admit it can be hard when you don't have leverage; but you also have a stronger incentive to fight than some VC or PE who is really just playing for points. More companies should really encourage this with their employees and arm them with the information they need to negotiate effectively. True; compensation would probably rise, but so would job satisfaction (and its attendant effect on employee turnover -- important in knowledge work where recruiting costs run upwards of $60,000-100,000 per hire). It's probably a wash in the end dollars-wise, but it makes it a lot easier to keep high-performing teams together. If you don't want to be greedy, give all your money away to whatever charities you want after you earn it and live a modest lifestyle. But the whole system functions better when everyone has the ability -- and the expectation -- to fight for the best deal they can get.