Profit Is Not a Four-Letter Word : The Real Truth about What Is Is, Where It Comes from, How It Improves the Quality of Life for Everyone

by Stieber, John

• ISBN13: 9780814479834
• ISBN10: 0814479839
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-04-01
• Publisher: Amacom Books

Summary

Economist John Stieber sets the record straight. Profit is neither inherently good nor evil, but a catalyst for the creation of what makes life easier. Wit a breezy style, delightful illustrations, enlightening parables, and dead-on-the-mark explanations, Stieber's book is designed so that business professionals of every stripe can grasp the key economic ideas concerning profit in one short read.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi	(2)
My Background	xiii
The First Cup of Coffee in the Morning: Brought to You by the Pursuit of Profit	1	(2)
The Tax Man Cometh: Our Public Goods and Services Depend on Profit	3	(2)
The Fable of the Tailor	5	(2)
The Way People Usually Talk About Profit	7	(2)
What We Were Never Told in School About the Human Behavior That Leads to Profit	9	(2)
Checking the Scoreboard: Profit as Information	11	(2)
The Rules of the Game: Rule Number One	13	(2)
The Rules of the Game: Rule Number Two	15	(2)
Why We Never Stop Consuming	17	(2)
The Rules of the Game: Rule Number Three	19	(2)
A "Sidebar" About the Rules of the Game	21	(2)
Profit, Scarce Resources, and Survival	23	(2)
The Four Horsemen of Production	25	(2)
Accounting vs. Economic Profit: Like the Tailor Says, "The 'Bottom Line' Doesn't Tell the Whole Story"	27	(2)
Fixed Costs Are Sunk Costs	29	(2)
Variable Costs Are Changeable	31	(2)
Shoes vs. Socks: Opportunity Costs	33	(2)
Farmer Jones: More About Opportunity Costs	35	(4)
From the Farm to the City	39	(2)
The Mother of All Costs: Opportunity Costs	41	(2)
A Closer Look at Accounting Profit	43	(2)
A Closer Look at Economic Profit	45	(2)
The Only Way to Define Profit	47	(2)
The Criticism of Profit	49	(2)
Profit Isn't "Good" or "Bad"- It's an Event	51	(2)
Another Kind of Event or Happening	53	(2)
Profit That Is Acquired Illegally	55	(2)
One More Comment About Illegal Profit	57	(2)
The Difference Between the Event Profit and the Pursuit of Profit	59	(2)
Once Upon a Time I Pursued Profit	61	(2)
Profit vs. Profit Maximization	63	(2)
A Lecture by a Well-Intentioned Scientist	65	(2)
Opportunity Costs and the Late, Great Planet Earth	67	(2)
What Is Profit Maximization? or If Profit Maximization Is Not Merely Making the Bottom Line as Large as Possible, Then What Is It?	69	(2)
The Technical Definition of Profit Maximization	71	(2)
How Marginal Revenue Works: A Mini Lecture	73	(2)
How Marginal Cost Works: Another Mini Lecture	75	(2)
The Real World of Profit Maximization	77	(2)
The Behavior That Maximizes Profit	79	(2)
Profit Maximization and the Bottom Line	81	(2)
Profit Maximization and Ethics	83	(2)
Profit Comparisons: One of the Least Important Uses of the Concept of Profit	85	(2)
Afterword	87	(2)
Index	89