Profit is a helpful unifying decision metric, but it’s not actually good to literally just maximize profits, this leads in the long run to destructive rent-seeking, regulatory capture, and trying to maximize negative externalities.
Agreed. That being said, it does seem like the frame in which it’s important to evaluate global states of the business using the simple metric of profit is also right: like, maybe you also need strategic vision and ethics, but if you’re not assessing expected future profits, it certainly seems to me that you’re going to miss some things and go off the rails. [NB: I am more tied to the personal impact example than the business example, so I’d like to focus discussion in that thread, if it continues].
Agreed. That being said, it does seem like the frame in which it’s important to evaluate global states of the business using the simple metric of profit is also right: like, maybe you also need strategic vision and ethics, but if you’re not assessing expected future profits, it certainly seems to me that you’re going to miss some things and go off the rails. [NB: I am more tied to the personal impact example than the business example, so I’d like to focus discussion in that thread, if it continues].