Before We Hold Profit Culpable For Our Woes…

Awobajo Olusegun — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:22:22 +0000

On the morality of extending profit making to the provision of essential commodities like water, medications, food etc, especially in the case when they are direly demanded for; like the provision of these commodities for the victims of war, accident, natural disasters like earthquake etc, it is important to stress that entrepreneurs are people that could see opportunities in the needs of people, provide for these needs, and make profit while meeting these needs. Through this, people’s sensitivity and ability to think are developed and harnessed, while the whole process leads to wealth creation and prosperity of individuals within a country. Without much ado, it should be said that the onus of providing these essential commodities whether in the normal or a state of emergency for the citizens of a country obviously rests on the shoulder of the government of that country. Therefore, the question of whether foreign or local entrepreneurs who invested in this sector should not make profit their priority, even in a state of emergency is debatable. Considering the fact that these same entrepreneurs pay some part of their earnings to the government as taxes on the same business, and undergo other corporate social responsibilities –a reasonable and laudable commitment from a responsive business-, therefore the government has the responsibility of channeling these taxes and other revenue towards the provision of these basic commodities for its citizenry, while the entrepreneurs eat the reasonable fruits of their resourcefulness. In the case of emergency, morality would demand that the government of such country and maybe; international aid agencies like the United Nations (UN) etc, bear the brunt for the victims by at least, subsidizing the cost of making these commodities available, but the business men have got to be paid…

The Morality of Profit » Awobajo Olusegun

Before We Hold Profit Culpable For Our Woes…