Quote:
|
I can, if you care to admit that profit is not the sole reflection of a market's performance. But, I would guess that is the sole measure you are willing to accept. I would point you to the US economy after WW II. Expanding middle class, most people feeling as if they were heading towards a secure future for themselves and a secure future for their children and pretty heavily regulated in comparison to the time leading up to the depression. Were corporations logging the same level of profits? Nope. But there was greater stability and in the long run, stability counts for more. That is my measure. Sustainable growth and a system that values the long term health and security of both parties to the equation. People who say the sole reason a business exists is to generate and maximize profits forget that the REAL reason the business exists is to provide a service to the consumer.
|
[/quote]
Yes. The purpose of business is to provide its service to people who desire that service. And "profit" is the measurement by which it is determined whether that business is succeeding in doing so.
As per the 50s: The economy was indeed more heavily regulated, in certain aspects anyhow, than today. And the United States endured three recessions.