What does it mean to put “People Before Profits”?

A colleague of mine posted on social media that we need more government intervention to put “people before profits.” I think people make such proclamations because they do not understand that striving for profits or minimizing losses actually does benefit the average person. The economist Walter E. Williams argues that profits and losses in general benefit society by forcing businesses to efficiently meet the needs of consumers. Businesses that produce what consumers desire make profits, while those that do not are shut down. Williams also notes that profits incentivize businesses to streamline their production to more efficiently use resources: “If producers waste input, their production costs will be higher and they’ll charge prices higher than what consumers are willing to pay. Therefore, the company will make losses...and go out of business” (p. 5). It is the non-profit and government sectors that are most likely to waste resources and fail to serve their customers. Just ask the university students complaining about skyrocketing student loan debt and their inability to find work after graduation.

Reference

Walter E. Williams (1999). More Liberty Means Less Government: Our Founders Knew This Well. Hoover Institution Press Publication.