“In other words, to claim that society requires corporations to maximize profits is like saying that society encourages hockey players to commit common assault. There is an element of truth to it, insofar as society does encourage hockey players to run into one another at high speeds, to threaten one another, and occasionally to punch each other in the face. But it needs to be mentioned that this sort of behavior is encouraged only in the context of a hockey game. We don’t let hockey players act this way in the mall, or with their families. Similarly, we encourage corporations to maximize profits only in one, very particular context: that of the competitive market, which is a very carefully staged competition. And just as physical contact is not the objective of the hockey game, merely the means employed, so too the maximization of profit is not the objective of the market economy. The proof of the latter claim lies in the observation that, in the ideal world of the perfectly competitive market, there are no profits.”

Excerpt From: Joseph Heath. “Economics Without Illusions.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/Gsw_y.l

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