In his ground-breaking article Why I'm a Libertarian, Mack Tanner writes:
"The naked fact of human nature is that most of the time, we don't decide what we really want through a logical process using moral or utilitarian arguments. The more we want something, the less logical we are about the reasons why we want it. People do what they want to do for a lot of reasons that are determined by instinct, training, culture, environment, and heredity. The smarter of our species may sometimes use a rational process in deciding how to act in order to get what they want, but they don't start with a moral principle or a question of social utility in determining what it is they really want.
If we engage in a rational process beyond answering the question of "what do I want and how do I get it?", it is almost always a process of self-justification. We first define what it is we want, then we look for the philosophical arguments that will justify our wanting what we want. The young person who wants sex, but who has been taught that sex outside of marriage is morally wrong, thinks up a justification that will allow him to drop his previous beliefs and take what a willing partner is offering. Most often, the rationalization comes after the deed is done. Usually, we only bother indulging in such a rational process when we are challenged by others and we don't want to admit the basic selfishness that drives us. Then we think up the moral arguments for why our course of action is the right thing to do. Once we decide what we want, all the moral or utilitarian arguments in the world won't change our mind, except possibly an argument based on a threat of force."
Money is something many people want at a deep level. They may identify money with survival; lack of money, with starvation and even death. It may be difficult for some to think rationally about money, to make rational decisions. If Mr. Tanner is right, the more you want something the less likely you are to think rationally about it.
So there may be more than just fear and greed behind irrational money decisions. In order to make rational money decisions, you may have to transcend aspects of "instinct, training, culture, environment, and heredity." And the "training" may include brainwashing!
