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profit motive

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profit motive

–noun
the desire for profit that motivates one to engage in business ventures.

Origin:
1930–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Cultural Dictionary

profit motive

The ability to earn profits as the reason for producers to make and sell goods.

Note: The profit motive is often called a great good or a great evil in society. On the one hand, it is said to represent selfishness; on the other, it is said to drive the free market system. (See invisible hand.)
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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