So, a generalized successful capitalist formula:

  1 - Use greed to motivate Other People
  2 - So you can use Other People's Money
  3 - Get in at the beginning, get out early with the money
  4 - Leave behind suckers with worthless junk

Use your profits to begin the cycle again.

I prefer Warren Buffet's approach:

  1 - Look for good people producing genuine value
  2 - Make a bet on them

The difference between the two is really in how cynical the observer is, not in anything that they're doing. For example, one of Buffett's first (and most profitable) investments was in See's Candies. They make chocolate, at fairly high prices. Where's the value in that?

Then he used the money to buy companies like Coca-Cola (they sell carbonated sugar water, and in developing nations often steal much needed water from indigenous people to do it) and furniture stores (which purchase furniture from cheap laborers and sell it after a 4x markup).

This really makes perfect sense when you consider that "greed" is a synonym for "what people want", with the only difference being that "greed" implies that what they want is frivolous, unnecessary, or destructive. So Paul Graham's maxim of "Make something people want" could, if you're cynical, translate to "Exploit people's greed." The end result is the same - you have something they desire - but the connotations are very different.

See's pays careful attention to freshness of ingredients. This is not only my experience, but also the opinion of a panel of chocolatiers and food critics hired by Consumer Reports to evaluate various brands of chocolates. For me, they are a much better value than Godiva. I prefer to give See's boxes as gifts. Giving my friends and family pleasure is valuable to me.

Furniture stores - There is a value add to being able to go somewhere and try out furniture. If you think 4X markup is way too much, then you have a business opportunity on your hands. Get information to the consumer and connect them to furniture makers. The consumer pays less, the manufacturer gets more, and you get rich off of your cut.

Coca-Cola - I don't buy it. Others do. To them, it has some sort of value.

It's a stretch to equate "Make something people want" and "Exploit people's greed." That Venn diagram is two overlapping circles, not just one.