Time was, most businesses had a basic philosophy of "we are here to Make Product/Provide Service, and when we do it well, we Make Profit".
Nowadays, it's much more common to find the philosophy of "we are here to Make Profit, as much of it as possible, by any means possible, and we have to Make Product/Provide Service in order to do it, but that's a necessary evil".
...Is that actually a quote from Milton? Like, Paradise Lost Milton? Or is it supposed to be Milton Friedman? Or someone else? Either way, I don't find it persuasive that Some Dead White Guy thought that.
Ultimately, the reason businesses are created—are allowed to be created—is to benefit society. To benefit the humans in society. Not by allowing the very few who create those businesses to amass obscene fortunes at the expense of everyone else: by Making Product and Providing Service so other humans can purchase those and enjoy them. The profit is supposed to be the reward for a job well done, not your God-given right and absolute duty.
...Oh, but you're just another Nazi account, aren't you? Yeah, I guess nothing's really going to get through to you.
What? When was that? You do realise that if your business does not make any profit then it's shrinking and would go bankrupt — regardless of how well you "make product/service"
>Is that actually a quote from Milton?
It's from Milton Friedman.
>Ultimately, the reason businesses are created—are allowed to be created—is to benefit society.
No, the reason the reason businesses (legal or illegal) are created is to make money for their owner(s). The "benefits to society" is just a means to an end, and is not necessary to establish a business. For example, drug cartels do not decide to sell illegal drugs because of any "benefit to society", they do it to make money. If there's no money to be made in selling eg cocaine then no one would sell it.
On the other hand you can make something people want but not make any profit eg a lot of VC funded companies, Uber, etc. People want cheaper and more convenient rides which Uber provides but Uber doesn't make a profit because they're not cost optimised.
>Oh, but you're just another Nazi account, aren't you?
What? Where did that come from???? A Nigerian Nazi? Wow, who would have thunk it!
Yes. That's literally all businesses. Businesses are established to make profits and enrich the owners (shareholders) and not the workers.
"profits are the one and only social responsibility of business" - Milton.
Do you make a business making widgets to make a profit from selling widgets or to enrich your worker who delivers the widgets to the customers?