Is it Immoral to Earn Attractive Profits from Poor Customers?

Re:Is it Immoral to Earn Attractive Profits from Poor Custom... by jronkone on Saturday November 19, 2011 @11:06AM (#3255508)

Anyone who answers yes, should really think about this.

Consider that you're going to meet a successful business man with billions of dollars. You represent to him the idea of helping the poor via technological advances that require money to implement. He seems interested, until you say that you want your ideas to be implemented by a non-profit organization. Then he loses his interest in your ideas. Wouldn't it be better for everyone involved to operate for profit, when the alternative is to let things be?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Is it Immoral to Earn Attractive Profits from Poor Custom... by bnegreve on Saturday November 19, 2011 @11:36AM (#3255567)

I disagree, the fact that there exist a particular scenario that does not lead to the optimal situation does not legitimate the fact that it's ok to profit from poor people in general.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Is it Immoral to Earn Attractive Profits from Poor Custom... by jronkone on Sunday November 20, 2011 @06:51AM (#3257905)

I'll have to admit that that was a stupid example, but my point is still that entrepreneurial people are often profit driven, and when one takes this incentive away, they tend to direct their efforts towards more profitable things. So if we deny the possibility of profit from helping the poor, we are effectively denying them any/most advances made possible by entrepreneurial people.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Is it Immoral to Earn Attractive Profits from Poor Custom... by jronkone on Saturday November 19, 2011 @12:07PM (#3255640)

But what incentive would entrepreneurial people have to help the poor if not profit? It's nice to be nice for the sake of being nice, but it's also important to eat.

[ Parent | on HN ]