One of the wonders of Capitalism as an economic system is that almost uniquely among the major forms of economics Capitalism relies not on some larger entity to distribute goods or wealth throughout the population but rather uses the human tendency towards selfishness and industry to get what he or she wants as an engine to maximize the number of people who, in the end, are lifted out of poverty and into prosperity. Adam Smith, the father of Capitalism as a theory (and in many ways of Economics as a discipline), put it like this his ‘The Theory of Moral Sentiments’ (1759), one of the several times that Smith addressed the concept of an Invisible Hand of ‘the market’ in his writings:
Every individual… neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it… he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention.
In many ways Smith’s ideas on this subject are indebted to the writings of the Anglo-Dutch political economist Bernard Mandeville and his 1714 book ‘The Fable of the Bees‘, too long to excerpt here but not incredibly long and a fun read if you’re into reading early 18th century economic philosophy in the form of poetry.
Suffice to say that the idea that corporations in search of mere ‘profits’ benefit communities and countries that work to maintain them in business and safety to do their work isn’t a new concept by any stretch… but don’t tell that to the folks down at the San Francisco Chronicle, because apparently it’s news to them or at least it’s news to Chronicle opinion columnist and cultural critic Soleil Ho:
Remember, In-N-Out isn’t some benevolent institution. It’s a fast food chain driven by profit goals. If In-N-Out’s primary concern is the well-being of the communities it serves, it wouldn’t be leaving.https://t.co/oCsfZwIvl9
— soleil ho (@hooleil) January 23, 2024
Ho seems to have gotten something like 3/4ths of the way towards having an awaking as to the nature of economics in a market based economy but simply couldn’t stick the landing and was forced to retreat to ‘In-N-Out doesn’t care about the community!’. Oh my.
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This is outrageous because we all know that In-N-Out is a 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to promoting communal well-being.
— Damin Toell (@damintoell) January 23, 2024
Oh, San Francisco. That tracks.
— Helena Handbasket 🇮🇱 (@BumpstockBarbie) January 23, 2024
Concur. The best way to address urban decay and public safety chaos is to shame residents and business owners into ignoring it.
— Lex Jurgen (@Lex_Jurgen) January 23, 2024
In fairness for many corporations these days it seems that shaming them for going about their business as they deem it to be necessary is the primary interaction they have with people on the left these days, and since so many companies are quick to buckle under the pressure it’s no wonder that people on the left thinks that this is a winning tactic.
Yes, private businesses should stay open in lawless areas to force their employees to be assaulted and abused. That’s what caring for a community means. Outstanding.
— Billy Gribbin (@BillyGribbin) January 23, 2024
Sure, let’s ignore the factors that are driving them out and just complain that they are going.
— tim maguire (@timmaguire42) January 23, 2024
Do you understand economics?
Do you understand a bottom line?
Do you understand the consequences of your actions?
— Nick Spiess (Spicy Arc) (@realnickspiess) January 23, 2024
We’re gonna go ahead and answer here: No, no, and definitely no.
Look at this stupid communist. https://t.co/Ze8JTjktfA
— The Grammatical Fiction (@Koestghost) January 23, 2024
sf chronicle writers now arguing in-n-out has a moral obligation to keep letting its employees and customers be robbed and assaulted FoR tHe CoMmUnItY https://t.co/jVN9VJCdcy
— Kane 謝凱堯 (@kane) January 23, 2024
In-N-Out’s presence is helpful to the community – they provide jobs and services or products people in the community want or use.
The community has responsibilities to local businesses as well. When the community doesn’t meet those, the businesses will leave. https://t.co/sT6VJ5ZVFW
— Justin Walton (@JustinRWalton) January 23, 2024
See now we’re delving into Social Contract Theory which is a whole ball of wax.
Wait, In-N-Out is not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. How will they ever recover from such an accusation https://t.co/pCP7KBzgwF
— Swann Marcus (@SwannMarcus89) January 23, 2024
Remember, San Francisco Chronicle isn’t some benevolent institution. It’s a newspaper driven by profit goals. If San Francisco Chronicle’s primary concern is the well-being of the communities it serves, it wouldn’t lock out articles for non-subscribers. https://t.co/inDSbb09Dn pic.twitter.com/Zzmf8doyhr
— From the Land of Sky Blue Waters 🇺🇸 (@HammsLager) January 23, 2024
Say, that isn’t very community minded of the Chronicle, now is it? We’re sure that Soleil Ho will be getting right on posting a discussion of that just as soon as her next paycheck clears.
Ho is apparently a trained chef who was the food critic for the Chronicle until last year when she left that position to join their opinion staff, so perhaps we can could cut her some slack on this… but she’s the one who took the job as an opinion columnist so we get to judge her for her terrible tweet. As always San Francisco and the San Francisco Chronicle has not surprised us in the least but has certainly, yet again, disappointed us. Here’s hoping they can pick up a couple copies of Henry Hazlitt’s ‘Economics in One Lesson‘ so they can avoid this kind of confusion again.
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