Avot253

22:
So, these are the three 'crowns' which most people may be assumed to respect and even covet: priesthood, royalty and Torah. But our investigation so far has shown that none of these crowns is a guarantee for personal uprightness. All too often it is the wearing of the crown that highlights the flawed personality of the wearer. Rabbi Shim'on ben-Yoĥai now says that there is one crown that is greater than all the crowns that mortals usually covet: the crown of a good name.

23:
Even that arch-pessimist, the author of Ecclesistes (Kohelet), has to admit that "a good name is better than fragrant oil" [Ecclesiastes 7:1] – even though his pessimism forces him to immediately add that "the day of our death is better than the day of our birth". The Gemara [Berakhot 17a] records that

24:
Thus it transpires that the essence of the teaching of Rabbi Shim'on in our present mishnah is a lesson on the excellence of personal character as compared with acquired dignity. The crown is the symbol of preeminence, and the metaphor can readily be applied to any gradation of rank or character. Priesthood and kingship are dignities conferred upon a man, without any necessary reference to his character. Even the crown of Torah, the fame of a great teacher, might conceivably be acquired by one who was personally unworthy. But the crown of a good name is the tribute paid to personal worth and upright character, and is better than all the others because it alone is indispensable.

25:
Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch [1808-1888] was to all intents and purposes the founder and author of modern orthodoxy. In his commentary on our present mishnah, elaborates further:

In our discussion in Avot 250 we read the comments of Jacob Chinitz about capitalism. Among other things he wrote:

The criticism of Roman civilization by Shimon Bar Yochai, in that he claimed they did it for selfish and materialistic reasons, stands in contradiction to the basis of modern capitalism. It is precisely the selfish and profit motive that is considered to be the driving force, good and dependable, behind progress, industry, prosperity.

Marc Auslander writes:

This over simplification of the theory of capitalism is at the root of much mischief in our modern world. Adam Smith showed that self interest can be harnessed to provide economic progress when constrained by a particular economic system. The key fact of this system is that those operating in self interest have no power except the power to make and sell goods! A totalitarian government operating in the self interest of its rulers, or a monopolistic corporation operating in the self interest of its management, does not fulfill the Adam Smith postulates, and is not guaranteed to operate in the best interest of society, as we well know from experience.