Once you sign up to the concept that a business collective is just a device for generating revenue, the situation you describe becomes almost inevitable. A company or corporation provides a service to the community, that is why it exists, and if it is successful at doing this, the individuals who do the work and take the risks are entitled to the rewards. No one really believes that profit is a bad thing, any more than anyone believes a good salary for a good job is an extravagance.

But not all businesses are family businesses, or the result of just one entrepreneur's vision and dedication, and even if they started that way they usually evolve away from that vision over time. They are collective enterprises, often publicly owned and professionally managed, and they involve many internal individuals with competing interests, as well as the public and external market environment they operate in. This makes them social organizations, part of the society. They do not exist in vacuo with only the market to interact with.

In my vision of economics, both laissez-faire capitalism and communist state capitalism have failed in the past, both eventually wind up as oligarchies, and organizations in both soon learn to commandeer the machinery of the state to perpetuate themselves long after a truly free market would no longer tolerate them. It's not really the state's fault, or even management's fault, it's the system. The dynamic of money and power creates an environment where those involved have little choice but to perpetuate wealth and influence. In order to do your job, you are almost forced to follow policies which lead inevitably to this. Since I can't think of a third alternative to these two extremes, then the only solution is a middle course which hopefully exploits the advantages of both and avoids the extremes of either.

Some might say this is a utopian fable, a pollyannaish fantasy. But I say no! This is exactly what HAS happened historically in the western European tradition, and especially in the United States. This is why the world is beating a path to our door. History has shown us that this synthesis is possible, and since the start of the industrial revolution we have seen a continuous growth of prosperity, democracy, freedom and yes, entrepreneurial activity too, throughout the world, but especially in America. It has its problems, and its setbacks, and there has often been bitter conflict and violence, but in general there has been immense progress made possible by the abandonment of absolutist ideology and doctrine, and by the inclusion of as many voices in the society, in as many varied roles as possible. Our political, economic, social and cultural organization will always be a work in progress, adjusting to changing conditions and conflicting interests, but as long as that dialogue, that struggle, is not replaced by absolutism disguised as principle, I am optimistic about the future.

The People may not always know what's right, but they are perfectly qualified to recognize what is not working. As long as the People can change things, everything will be all right.