Is it really the profit motive?
My book came out last week so I've been doing interviews and podcasts. My favorite, by far, was with my conservative cousin and never-Trump leader, Charlie Sykes, on his popular Bulwark Podcast.
We actually agreed on some thing and we disagreed on others.
He, as a conservative who is skeptical of government, challenged me to admit that it’s the profit motive (i.e. American capitalism) that has been the source of progress, innovation and prosperity in the U.S.
I looked forward to the podcast for exactly that kind of question - one that gets at the core ideas of markets and capitalism, one that challenges my thinking and one that can lead to spirited discussion. As I texted to him afterwards, I don't think it's the kind of question I'll get from progressive interviewers.
So what did I say? First I admitted that, of course, people are motivated by money. But then I told the story of Francis Kelsey, the FDA scientist in the 1950s and 60s who single-handedly kept Thalidomide out the U.S., became an American hero recognized by JFK and then just went back to work to serve the country (read about her here.) And I mentioned the nearly 4 million teachers across the country doing cool things in classrooms. I told him about the many, many public sector workers I've met who are proud of what they do and how they serve.
Of course, all of these folks needed to be paid - but it wasn't the profit motive that drove their creativity, their hard work and their commitment to serve. Any of us could make a much longer list of people who - yes for a paycheck - were motivated to serve and create. Nurses, musicians, farmers, social workers, veterinarian, college professors, librarians, ____ [fill in the blank.]
After that I challenged him to think about how the dark side of profit seeking threatens public goods. The profit motive for public contractors is to get the contract and do well enough not to lose it (you have to do pretty poorly to lose it, and you often get to keep it for a long time and sometimes get lots more money after they have it.) Profit drives private prison companies to get contracts and to pass laws that put more people in prison. Private trash incineration companies want to burn more trash and have passed policies to limit recycling that takes some of the most burnable — and profitable — stuff out of the stream.
Oil companies are driven by profit to destroy the planet and prevent action that could save it. The Sacklers were driven by profit to create millions of Opioid addicts and overdoes victims. Tobacco companies..., well you get the idea.
The issue is far, far more complicated that can be addressed in this piece (I always set a time limit of no more than an hour to write these.) For example, the profits-drive-innovation crowd often ignores (or conveniently forgets to mention) the billions of public dollars spent on basic science that has led to major innovations that helped develop scads of stuff we all depend on - from the Covid vaccine to the Iphone.
But I took Charlie's question seriously. One question occurred to me that actually made me think and ruminate on the role of the profit motive. Is it really the profit motive they are describing, or is it the success motive — the drive to succeed, create and win that is the more basic force? Did Steve Jobs invent the Mac because he wanted to get rich or because he wanted to put a computer that he developed and sold on every desk? Or both?
Who knows? It's perhaps even ridiculous to try to untangle those motivations because sales, revenue and profit are the metrics the pretty much the only way for Apple to determine success (not counting a nation of smart phone addicts.)
But since this is where I get to write what comes to my mind I decided to post it. And because I want more questions that get me to think about things differently. (And because I want Charlie to invite me back!)
Time for some music.
Since we're on the subject, here’s a couple of songs about capitalism. Capitalist Blues by Leyla McCalla and House of Cards by James Keelaghan.
See you soon. (Buy my book at your local bookstore!)
Donald