Objectionable Profits

"The liberals consider profits as objectionable. The very existence of profits is in their eyes a proof that wage rates could be raised without harm to anybody. They speak of profit without dealing with loss. Profit and loss are the instruments by means of which the consumers keep a tight rein on all business activities. A profitable enterprise tends to expand, an unprofitable one tends to shrink. The elimination of profit renders production rigid and abolishes the consumer's control."

 

Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973)

 

Profits are votes. Consumers vote every day in many ways concerning many goods and services. Goods and services have productive life cycles. Some things get replaced through technology and advancement - Joseph Schumpeter called that "creative destruction." Others get replaced by the same good or service being provided a better way.

I am self employed. Therefore I am a capitalist. My capital is my trade and skill at providing it. I do not like loss. I LIKE PROFIT. Profit, what money I make over and above what it costs me to make it, is what allows me to eat, provide for my family and stay in business. I like that flexibility and control. Profit keeps me in business.