Creating Capital: Money-making as an aim in businessLipman, Frederick L. (Frederic Lockwood)
Philosophy
Creating Capital: Money-making as an aim in business
Lipman, Frederick L. (Frederic Lockwood)
Business; Saving and investment; Wealth -- Moral and ethical aspects
are drawn principally from two classes: First, the professional
speculator, who knows his markets and makes a business of buying and
selling future risks; such men perform a great service in handling our
seasonal crops and in other directions, and are entitled to a
reasonable profit. Second, the man of wealth who may use part of his
surplus in the risks of undeveloped enterprise; although it is probable
that in the end his losses and expenses will outweigh his gains, he can
afford to take chances of such experiments in the hope that success
will follow in some of them; furthermore, he can regard the outlay as a
contribution to the advancement of mankind. For the rest of us,
however, outside of these two classes, it is our business to keep away
from speculation whether in oil wells, flying machines, in new
factories, or in real estate: in the long run, we cannot get something
for nothing and money-making efforts that are ethically valid thus
coincide with those that are selfishly desirable, namely, the efforts
to obtain the payment, the profit, that arises from a valuable service
performed or commodity produced. Too often men who follow this rule in
their regular occupation depart from it in the use of their saved
surplus funds. They feel that their savings ought to make them money,
as they say.
Now savings can be employed in one of three ways: They may be used as
capital by the owner; or they may be put out in investments--that is,
used or utilized as capital in the business of another; or, third, they
may be wasted in gambling or speculation. As a matter of course, the
employment as additional capital in one's own enterprise is generally
the most desirable wherever applicable, but this is a use of limited
scope, relating to but few of the people engaged in productive activity
who earn and save a surplus. The main resource for such accumulations
is in safe investments, in the bonds and securities of our own country
and those of well established enterprises. Not many among our embryo
capitalists possess the experience or skill requisite for the safe and
proper investment of their funds, they must rely upon the advice of
others. But whom can they trust? The demand for investment advice has
not failed to call forth a supply of advisers, and elaborate are the
schemes designed to lure the unwary. But, generally speaking, the man
who falls into the clutches of these birds of prey has himself to
blame, for the reason that the temptations they offer are appeals to
the illegitimate desire to get something for nothing or to the foolish
notion that one can get-rich-quick in some way whispered about by a
stranger, and out of sheer benevolence. The fact is that the wise man
will dismiss all thought of making money out of his investments; he
will seek only the moderate return which alone is consistent with
safety; and with this policy, will turn a deaf ear to any so-called
opportunity which promises big profits. We can summarize the matter by
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account