Full Idea
Men combine in groups to attain more strength in the scramble for material goods, and loyalty to the group spreads a halo of quasi-idealism round the central impulse of greed.
Gist of Idea
Men unite in pursuit of material things, and idealise greed as part of group loyalty
Source
Bertrand Russell (Political Ideals [1917], 1)
Book Reference
Russell,Bertrand: 'Political Ideals' [Spokesman 2007], p.16
A Reaction
See the 'greed is good' speech in the film 'Wall Street'. This sounds like a description of the USA, but Russell was very much in England at this stage.