That should blow a few Liberal and Socialist mindsets – serving others. Indeed, it is ONLY when entrepreneurs, business people (and yes, even billionaires) serve others in such a way that consumers see great value added in the products and services offered that people get rich. And they only stay if they continue to serve others with stuff that consumers voluntarily want.
This from Prof. Don Boudreau says it well:
First, in free markets, owners of capital remain owners of capital only if they use their capital to serve others. And the greater the number of others they serve, the greater the amount of capital they own [or earn -Skip]. The Walton family’s enormous capital was created – and its value maintained – only by that family’s continuing success at serving hundreds of millions of consumers. Consumers’ voluntary spending choices play at least as large a role in determining “where money goes” as do the investment and managerial decisions of capitalists. (Were the Waltons to put all of their money into factories that manufacture caramel-covered anchovies, they would quickly lose all of their capital.)
Anchovies? Yuck – that would not have me trading my labor (in terms of wages earned) for that capital in any way shape or form short of starving. But that is the beauty and power of Free Markets (as opposed to the Crony Capitalism of Obama and the Democrats forcing people to buy healthcare insurance from large corporations) – if a need becomes known, some capitalist will serve that marketplace.
And get rewarded or punished based on how well they are serving others. And that is also the power of the Free Market – the ability to decide, through the price mechanism, whether or not those serving others are indeed, sufficiently worthy (e.g., is the product worth the price demanded? If not, it is Tango Uniform time (“toes up”)).
