Profit Isn't "Good" or "Bad" It's an Event

The reasons for criticizing profit are many and varied, but the underlying cause is that few people, including those who are in the business of pursuing profit, truly understand what a positive impact it has on all of us. Too often we tend to look at profit as being inherently good or inherently bad, when, in fact, it is neither.

Profit is an event, a happening. As we already know, it can only be equal to, greater than, or less than opportunity cost. What is good or bad about profit is how we as human beings acquire it. For example, if we acquire profit by selling illegal drugs, that is bad. If we acquire profit by producing legal drugs that relieve suffering, cure diseases, and extend life, that is good.

I cannot help but think about people like Ross Perot and Bill Gates. In the pursuit of profit, these men have created employment opportunities that have enhanced the quality of life for more than a hundred thousand men and women in communities all over the world. These jobs provide food, clothing, housing, health care, education, recreation, and more for themselves and for several hundred thousand family members. For the life of me, I just don't understand why this kind of behavior is considered by some to be inherently bad. I'm convinced that the benefits for people from the pursuit of profit are absolutely, positively, inherently good. I am also convinced that it takes a colossal amount of arrogance to ignore these benefits.