Entrepreneurs should be praised, not loathed

At the beginning of a new year it is good to remember the impact that entrepreneurs have had on our lives. This is especially important given the anti-business rhetoric that we hear almost daily from politicians, together with their attacks on people who have become rich through business ventures.

Think of life before the industrial revolution. No electric lights. Few healing and pain-relieving pharmaceuticals. No cars or trains, televisions, radios, cellular telephones, computers or flushing toilets. Few sanitary conveniences. Almost everything that makes contemporary life so extraordinarily comfortable, safe, efficient and convenient has come to us as a result of business and entrepreneurship.

Did people become outrageously rich through the development and marketing of these products and services? Absolutely. Are those rich entrepreneurs heroes or enemies of the people? I believe they are simply people who experienced the benefits of free enterprise. These efforts may have been motivated by money, but I also believe many entrepreneurs were sincerely motivated by the desire to improve life.

More wealth has been created during the past 100 years than in the entire history of the planet before that time. The standard of living has improved for almost everyone on the planet, rich or poor, even though we are working fewer hours every week than our ancestors.

Entrepreneurs are always looking for new and better ways to do things, developing more efficient ways to make products, exploring new ideas, handling and transporting products faster and safer, and designing everything to be pleasing and stimulating to our imaginations.

Have these innovations come through government mandate? Absolutely not. They have come as a result of governments stepping back and allowing individuals the freedom to pursue ideas while providing the economic protection of property rights. This is called capitalism.

When I traveled to Russia I visited museums and historical sites where I saw beautiful architecture and art. I heard magnificent music and read from outstanding authors, poets and philosophers. But most of this vibrant creativity happened before 1917, when the Marxist revolution took over. The museums and historical sites were in stark contrast to the gray, drab, uncomfortable and repetitive art and architecture that were created under central planning.

In free markets, transactions must be win/win or they don't occur. I will not pay you $100 for something unless I believe it will provide me with $100 worth of value — or more. And you will not sell me something for $100 unless the $100 is worth more to you than whatever it is you are selling to me. We both win. That is the nature of free markets.