ARE PROFITS IMMORAL?

Hokitika Guardian, 31 July 1924, Page 4

ARE PROFITS IMMORAL?

“IH.'YJNG IN Till'. CHEAPEST AND e SKI.DING IN TIIK DEAREST ■ ..MARK KT.”

( Tiy Sir Ernest llemi). I icmeinhcr wlii'ii iii Wstsliinuttiii taking ii lecture tour in a cliar-a-baiie to see tli” sights ol tlii> c ity. 'I lie loc i iir-i-i'. who spake through n megaphone by llio side of tlio driver. poiiitoil out in n soiik'w lin t perl uin torv innnnor tlit* While House llllcl other not ;i I ill* I Xlturrs of the cn|iitnl. lull lie unveil really eloiini'iit nml enthusiast ie as In' passed house after house of si'niito.'i nml oilier celebrities. telling ns in every eii-e limy ninny million ilollar. eneli one uns worth. It struck me at first, until I got to know America it little lietter. ns rather remnrknlile tlmt mi ont-nl-elhow el'nritlinlie lecturer should exhibit -m« h ohviotis jiriile in the millions possessed. or supposed to he possessed. hy his fellow citizens. In England we eel n totally different picture; here, a man who makes a profit is almost ashamed of it himself, and ho is. to a very (buig'l'oitx extent, on object of scorn or derision in the eyes ol some people, and c ■, i tainly of most politicians.

Are profits immoral' Certain sorts, ol course are. War profits may lie cited. loi 1 example and also, perhaps, profits made out of land which are not th • re-nil. of personal ell'ort pal into the land. Poll these sorts ol profits are olilv the exceptions which prove 'he rule. What i-. profit ; mipo-ed of.' !I>',v it ari-e:- Where do- it cm.' from:- I think, i! analy-ed. it 'a ill seen to coe-is, c,| three inp I edlelit - : til tic comings ol management. <- ) interest on c apital, i 9 I an iiisiil nnue premium for the risk undertaken. Now eaeli of these ingredient- is accepted without, cpicstion in e very walk ol hte; nobody suggests that any one of them is immoral, yet. when they are lumped together and called profit we are asked to believe that tlrny eon-titnte an evil which is responsible for the ills with which society is alilieted and that in the now world which the dart rinaries will create, profits will find no place. A l»;)IM I.AII ARGY.MENT W 'I II.’:

S! )(T A LISTS. Some of the argument- used to !► *1 • .-ter up th" ease again-t |. r.ilit '.ill m. t stand examination. All Sidney A cob and hi- many literary imitators are l ever lired of sneering about "buying i:i the c heapest and selling in the dearest market Tile business man i- -upp.i ed to he engaged in easting about for some one whom he call hny at a sweatin'' price, and then searching ill the opposite direction for .some Oil" else from nhoni lie can s'lnee'/e an exorbitant figure. Tiiere may he business people like that here and there, lint it is a dishonest travesty of tile facts to suggest that I living in the cheapest and -■»• liin•' in the dearest market is the Ini' it and practice of hci-imss. What All' Sidney Welih really means i- that th'.' Inisiiiess man is engaged in re lining -nrphis where it exists, and relieving •: areity wliere it is evident.

As an example, let nx ~'ipp'-e ilial plums cm a ft-mth Alriean farm are worth .Jil a pound, and that they are .veiling in C'ovent (larch'll lor ftd a lb. There I'.c have an example of an cnihai ra-sino surplus and a distressing Scarcity. The. South African lariuvr is kept poor hy llie prie • ol Id a II:. and tlie English consumer has h re-tric t his

consumption of plums co-iiug (id a Hi. There are diliielllties at hath ends. Unit is the sent of situation that invites the attention of what the Socialists are pleased to call "that grasping gived.v c apitalistic parasite."' the business man. II the business man can overcome all the problem-' 11—01 dated with the removal of pin ills from llie Soul h Alrieau farm to Cnvont (icvdeii. liie pi ice ai the one end v, ill I .'"ill to go up. a.lul at the other end la go down. I’oth farmer and iiin-iimer will he lei ter ofl and hath wid have' reason In hies- the business agency u lie h intervened in rvlieve lice - .1 uni inn. Nothing. hut a perverted inielligem e can find anythin;' in this stat... of affair- that could be de-

scribed as immoral. If the S n inli-t----could show that the ploi’.- in Smith Africa mold he varied to Coveiit Gardeu 1 _v a proec-s which would he more evoiiomieal than the hosioess mail and his profits their ease Would lie worth exami'iaion. hut that ntilortunatfly for them - is a hit of evideime wliieli they ho J,. and such "'.idem" a- exisi' operate- agaii 't ! -u:ill. TIIK I,’KAY ADD UK SKRYHT. I’r.ii:t 111 :iv lie defined as the reward of liprvice ; it i- the only means v.!|"i'"I v the eomniiiiiily ran n'-ogiii- ' servi e. There can he no eliiciemy. there can he no progress, without profits. While it may appear upon th" surface (hoi profit i-- the incentive ol the 1 m—iin'—- man. it i- indispnlahh' that he ono i l lv niaki' a in'ofit if lm will be i (fieii'iu. ill'll r"(ld"l' go 111 S'.o vife. We loiinan I. fill'. 1 - are funny ereatutes; we are liable to fee! a cilain irritation at the thought in another making a profit out of ii-. We 100-l have . or little grinnldc or <■!-(• we do not really enjoy imrs. ives I•: 1 1 to torn that f'"']ing im.i a great political movement may I", and i-. a very dangeimi * thing to do. When ue < x.amiiee it more -ei'enl i!i, e. Il.v il- iiosoomlm -s l.eeomex oiiviou-. Tlier" i- one I I-" t, liere We all de-ire that the oilier man s',all have lie. profit aml that i- in comieeiion with our insurance. AVo pay mi animal premium for ." life insurance in order to get a profit for our dep.-eiid"iii ii «e «!■;• young. We know that if we live ti a ripe old age we xlai.ll lose r.aeii v. and so in paving for oar insurance we do ac tually, when writing tlie cheque, give iiltemm-e to the wish that tlie com-

pany may make a very goad profit on the transaction. We do not lake the same view in writing a cheque for tin' greengrocer or others who ~ r.i' us. lon we -hoolil do. for mill's'! the gleeli-

firmer makes r. su ti-fai lory profit our supplies of ere; nyrocorv are iu •!=iiiyer. sinie mi piece i.f I:'!can !;.• really .slit isfaei ory isiilt—. the >~i;]■ j•!it Ilets iiiv re',card. I : r:Jiilcall l.e male in tail wavs, either iiy additiy tn l!ie -.'lin;: prii— nr l y rcduciiiy the t osls nl' pir.du.'iinn. Additions to lie.' s.llimj; price can nitiy lie mail ' whim there i- - var. ily. ami ill-* pre- nil liahil uf the world in tic. diivctinn (if (leeelnpine seaivity. limit im: production ami restrictin'' c\c!ia uye i* creatitiL' innumerable nppnt limit ie-- mr pr. ill leers In add tn price', livery mi w ilii'li !emU t > disenuraye prudnetinn liy an;, 'indy swells |.mills. |i i, pathetic tn the student ef these matters i . see the hdi.mriti;; via-S'.’s deieived. I.y people win iniftht t f> !;mnv I •.tier, i t; t ■ belicviny that they can itiipi'ive wayes liv limitii»pr production. Kxa.tly the reverse is the case. Inn it is tile fact that every swell limitation adds tn llie canines el protit. l’rolils in llie hulk t!ie he.st profits. normal profits, and the profits ot times of prosperity—are made liy reducing eests, a pieceswhich oiiin> l.eyuii. ycnorally improves wanes, 'flic whole trihe of ernlioinisis friuii the earliest time have lieen ;i 1 do in siiffcest an altenintive to profits as a i ost reducer. Profit is really the cheapest thine we have ; it it tinniest powerful a omit lor ecoiininv that v.o yet know. We live each one nl Us I.y renderin': service to our fellows. \\ e | live well or live badly, aeennliay to tinopinions wlueh our tellows torm of the service which we render to them. TII K PI.ACK OK 'fill'. PKODITKK. Ally scheme ef thinys which eliminates profit robs the rest of us ot the opportunity of expression tiltr opinion id the service which is offered ti-. ’lhiouyh proiits we keep ill producer in a posi-j iidti of subservience to the consumer: | without profits the producer would be I top doc, and that is really the position j that the Socialists desire to l>r in it I

about. Tlie weakness of their plan -is that unless the producer is in a position of subservience* lie will not produce. lie says that lie will, ant! lie a runes that he will take a ltighoi tic" of liis functions and do better work. This, as a very pretty argument. _ is worked tip b.v such experts as Air latency in his Acquisitive Society, hut it docs not rinc trite'. To deny it is not Ic> deny that human nature is pood or that our motives are of the highest. To lake the other view is not to argue that the human being is weak or that he needs the incentive of greet!. In doing a piece of work wo must keep our minds fixed upon the person for whom we are working, and regard our own convenience as a secondary consideration. Through profits we arrive at that serviceable mental stage. Without them, we should forget the consumer and tend to regard ourselves our job. and our convenience in doing fit, a- the all-important tiling. AA’heu our inimls start working that way. the job siilfei 1 -. If to these somewhat abstruse arguments is added the unadvantage, every domestic amenity, every personal comfort which any one of us enjoys, has always been plated at our service, mixed up with a little hit uf profit or a little hit of tlie desire for profit, how citu it ho seriously argued that profits are immoral ami that they might ' ■ he abolished, or that, indeed, we could live without them I'