Today's quote comes from Ayn Rand
One of the biggest misunderstanding about economics is that it's a zero sum game; in other words for every millionaire there has to be hundreds of poor people that he got his money from. This is not true because wealth can be created and just like creative pursuits like painting or film making someone can create something that can be enjoyed by others without them losing. It's not like if I make a movie there's someone out there that doesn't get a movie made as a direct result. The millionaire creates capital and employs hundreds of people.
My favorite example of this is John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil. History has cast Rockefeller as the villain for being greedy but he actually did more to help the poor and working classes than any philanthropist ever did. Before Standard Oil lighting was provided by candles or whale oil which was very expensive and unfordable to most. Most American's would get up with the sun go to work stop work when the sun was going down go home eat a quick dinner by candle light and go to bed because they couldn't afford light. However with Standard Oil it became affordable to light your house, you could stay up after dinner, you could spend time with your family, you could read the newspaper and books to educate yourself. Rockefeller made this possible not by beating anyone but by achieving greatness in business.
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