Profiting versus profiteering.

The distinction between profiting and profiteering is enormously important. To me, profit is the value of an offering to a customer, minus the resources required to produce the offering. Profit can often be measured in dollars, but not always. It’s always a good thing. Profiteering, on the other hand, is an abomination to me, a breaking of trust with customers. Enron was a prime example, a company that reported big “profits”, but we found later it was due to fraud, corruption, and fleecing. The goal in profiteering is just to make a quick killing by exploitation. I will always promote profits, and will conversely denounce profiteering.

Innovation increases profits, and so to me profit is both a private and public good.