Capitalism Saved the Miners

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/10/capitalism-saved-the-miners

Daniel Henninger has an intriguing article in the Wall Street Journal under the headline "Capitalism Saved the Miners." He writes, "profit = innovation," crediting the profit motive with inspiring the invention of the drill bit used to rescue the miners.

In fairness the Chilean government did a lot to orchestrate the rescue, and the same capitalist system that rescued the miners is the one that sent them down (or gave them the choice to go down) into the dangerous mine to begin with. And while profit is a powerful motive for innovation, it certainly isn't the only one; people who work on innovations related to health or science may be motivated by things such as fame, peer approval, competitiveness, intellectual challenge, or a desire to help other people. All those caveats, aside, Mr. Henninger's piece is worth a look.

by Ira Stoll  |  Oct 14, 2010 at 10:30 am receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list