An Epilogue on Exploitation

In any group, there are topics that sometimes feel better left undiscussed—questions that, if raised in conversation, are bound to cause outrage or division.

In a group of entrepreneurs, one of those questions is probably: "Should we feel guilty for making a profit?"

That's why I'm so grateful and impressed by you—the members of this newsletter. Last week, I posed that very question, and although some of you disagreed with me, every response I received was thoughtful, nuanced, and full of curiosity.

Especially in today's social and political landscape, that's special. And before I dive into a brief epilogue, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for that.

In my previous article, I explored the growing public sentiment that "profit is theft" and my own feelings as an entrepreneur on the ethics of profiteering.

At the end of the piece – although I conceded that profit is the product of economic exploitation – I concluded that exploitation and the pursuit of profit are simply the pursuit of power; and I believe it's how we gain that power and what we choose to do with it that defines our character, legacy, and ethics as entrepreneurs.

As the title suggests, I believe we can (and should) strive to create "Great Exploitations." Most of you seemed to agree with this conclusion, but felt it was harsh to call what we do as entrepreneurs "exploitation".

Which is entirely understandable. Exploitation is a word that comes with a lot of baggage.

The E-word

Exploitation is a word that reminds us of some of our most egregious historical injustices: colonialism, genocide, slavery—moments when people in positions of power abused it to enrich themselves at the expense of others.

This is the primary connotation of the word "exploitation." So, when we hear a phrase like, "profit is the product of exploitation," we naturally assume it's insinuating that profit itself is immoral and unjust.

However, exploitation is simply "the action of making use of and benefiting from resources." We can think about it as taking advantage of something.

Taking advantage of something or someone can be negative: "The salesman took advantage of their lack of knowledge to upsell them." But it can also be positive: "They took advantage of the sunny weather and went to the pool."

This is what I meant when I said, "profit is the product of exploitation". Although they can have negative outcomes, I think profit and exploitation are fundamentally neutral activities.

I believe profit comes from exploitation, but I don't believe that all exploits are automatically immoral. And I should have made that point clearer.

Is insert my business exploitation?

In my article, I highlighted two companies that donate their profits to charity as a way of proving that not all profitable enterprises are immoral. But I didn't mean to suggest that the only way for the pursuit of profit to be justified is if the proceeds are donated.

I certainly didn't mean to suggest that if you are currently pursuing profit for personal gain, you are unethical. I'm sorry if that's how this point came across.

My goal was simply for us to acknowledge that, for profit to exist, something is always exploited. Whether that's a natural resource, a new piece of technology, an asset we own, or our own knowledge and time.

As entrepreneurs, we exploit opportunities and make use of the resources around us to gain economic, political, and social power. Exploitation is what we do.

And I think it's important for us to be cognizant of this fact so that we can consistently question our exploits:

Am I wielding the power I have responsibly?
Am I enriching myself and the world equitably?
Am I using the resources around me sustainably and fairly?

Because when we start believing that we deserve the power we wield, we risk losing sight of our responsibility—and that’s when we become dangerous.

Until next time,
Drew