Profit Motive - Criticisms

Criticisms

The majority of criticisms against the profit motive center on the idea that profits should not supersede the needs of people. Michael Moore’s film Sicko, for example, attacks the healthcare industry for its alleged emphasis on profits at the expense of patients. Moore explains:

We should have no talk of profit when it comes to helping people who are sick. The profit motive should be nowhere involved in this. And you know what? It’s not fair to the insurance companies either because they have a fiduciary responsibility to make as much money as they can for their shareholders. Well, the way they make more money is to deny claims or to kick people off the roles or to not even let people on the rolls because they have a pre-existing condition. You know, all of that is wrong.

Another common criticism of the profit motive is that it is believed to encourage selfishness and greed. Critics of the profit motive contend that companies disregard morals or public safety in the pursuit of profits. The Occupy movement, for example, can be seen as a response to the profit motive. One OWS protestor remarked: “Behind the profit motive, there is the big G: greed. And this greed has become a disease across the planet.”