Profit Without Pretence

What if Profit Meant Something More?

What if we measured wealth not by what we could take, but by what we could create? Not by clever manipulations or legal loopholes, but by the tangible impact left in our wake? These questions strike at the heart of a broken system, one that rewards exploitation while punishing integrity, celebrating manipulation while silencing real work.

We’ve been sold a story. It tells us that profits—any profits—are proof of success. It tells us that the market will self-correct, that greed is good, and that the winners deserve their spoils. But history reveals a darker truth: unchecked profit-chasing often means cutting corners, externalizing harm, and concentrating power in the hands of a few at the expense of the many.

And yet, this system isn’t immutable. It’s not a force of nature. It’s a design—one we can redesign.

This, is No Exit Investing.

How would you invest, if you couldn’t get out?

The Investor’s Responsibility

Investment is a form of power, and power demands accountability. Every dollar deployed decides which ideas flourish, which industries grow, and which communities thrive—or decline. But when that power is wielded without integrity, it doesn’t just fail to build; it destroys.

In the shadow of crises—2008’s financial collapse, corporate fraud scandals, and rising inequality—one truth becomes painfully clear: profit without purpose poisons everything it touches. Entire communities are left hollowed out as extractive practices strip resources and wealth, leaving little but promises that never materialize.

“You can’t be neutral on a moving train.”

In investment, neutrality is complicity. To continue funding obfuscation, manipulation, and fraud is to actively undermine the world we live in. If investors are to claim the mantle of creators rather than exploiters, they must commit to a new way forward, one where performance and practice define profit.

A New Measure of Success: The Performance Economy

Imagine an economy where:

• Profit is earned, not extracted. Where value comes from innovation, labour, and tangible contributions—not from betting on failure or playing with paper gains.
• Transparency is non-negotiable. Where every investment can be traced to its real-world outcomes.
• Accountability is inherent. Where capital serves communities as much as shareholders.

This isn’t idealism; it’s pragmatism. An economy built on performance—on creating things of value, solving real problems, and building what lasts—is one that doesn’t just enrich a few but sustains everyone. It’s an economy that rewards work and resilience, not spin and speculation.

Systems of power do not dismantle themselves. Change requires action—an intentional rewriting of rules to prioritise outcomes over appearances.

The Cost of Staying the Same

If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s this: the systems we depend on are fragile. Essential workers—often the least paid and least protected—kept the world moving while the markets soared. Billionaires grew wealthier as millions struggled. This is the cost of a system that places short-term gain above all else.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Profit and purpose aren’t opposing forces—they’re complementary. What we lack isn’t capability but commitment: the will to design an economy that prioritises creation over extraction, community over consumption, and sustainability over short-sightedness.

Your Role in This (R)evolution

This change won’t come from the top down. It will come from you—the investor demanding better, the worker insisting on fairness, the entrepreneur building with integrity, and the citizen holding power to account.

Here’s how you can start:

1. Ask where your money goes. Whether it’s in a fund, a retirement account, or a business venture, dig into how it’s being used. Demand transparency.
2. Support performance-driven investments. Prioritise initiatives that solve problems, employ people, and create lasting value.
3. Challenge the status quo. Push back against practices that profit through harm, and amplify alternatives that show a better way is possible.

Profit Isn’t the Problem. How We Earn It Is.

This isn’t a call to abandon profit. Far from it. Profit is vital. It fuels innovation, sustains livelihoods, and drives progress. But it must be earned, not stolen. It must reflect the work and risk of creating value, not the cleverness of exploiting opacity.

Robert Reich reminds us that “the rules of the economy are written by those with power—but they are always subject to rewriting.” Let’s rewrite them. Let’s demand an economy where wealth reflects effort, where investors are stewards, and where success uplifts everyone—not just the select few.

The train is moving, and the destination is up to us. Will we choose the familiar tracks of exploitation and greed, or will we forge a new path—toward integrity, impact, and a profit that means something more?

Read my work on Profitism. The system we are in is not capitalism. It’s not any ism. It’s an infrastructure of extraction we are indoctrinated to accept as natural order. It’s not.

A Question for You

What would it take for you to demand more from the investments you make or the economy you support?

Share your thoughts, subscribe for more insights, and join the conversation about building an economy that works for all of us.

How would you invest, if you had to earn by the performance, not by the sale?

Want to be part of the change? Subscribe for insights on transforming investment, business, and economic integrity. Let’s build a world where profit and purpose co-exist.

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Thanks!

B

We don’t need more loopholes, spin, or short-term gains. We need transparency, impact, and real value. Demand an economy where success reflects effort, not exploitation.

Let’s rewrite the rules.

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