"The business of business is to increase its profits"

I consider this a very catchy and explicit quote that states and justifies the fundamental and sometimes the only purpose of business. It also exposes the ambitious nature of humankind in which increasing profits is above the negative collateral effects of such businesses on other people or entities.

Businesses are as diverse as people´s interests; not all of them look for an economical profit. So if we only consider the ones that do so, increasing profits mean an accumulation of wealth at the expense of others, as not everyone is a business man and as we live in a world with limited resources.

The responsibility of the business outcomes can´t be unlinked from the human nature of the businessmen. Therefore increasing profits shouldn´t be the only purpose of business but the improvement of life quality at the level the business is getting the profits from.