Profit-making is vital and is the basis of the most successful system of wealth creation and the provision of goods in human history: capitalism. It is only capitalism that liberated the vast majority of those who embraced it from the autocratic rule of demagogues who presided over most of human history and who still hold sway in many parts of the world.

Capitalism also led to the most efficient use of capital. The profit derived from capitalism provided the incentive for those with sufficient talent and who were prepared to work hard to defer gratification, take risks and invest. It is this profit-driven endeavour that created human progress and generated economic growth and prosperity like never before.

Those places in the world that have built institutional systems creating environments in which capitalism could thrive, firstly in England following the Glorious Revolution, have seen huge differential benefits compared with the rest of the world.

Only with capital and profit can society develop the wealth necessary to invest and improve those things which we all desire: healthcare, education, transport, defence and homes, to name a few.

It follows that anything that detracts from the pursuit of profit - the main purpose of business - diminishes the creation of wealth, investment and innovation and therefore the development of humankind.

Lawmakers and others that seek to distract business owners from profit-making and to burden them with other costs need to think very carefully of the consequences in relation to innovation, development and access to investment.

In recent times businesses have been overwhelmed with distractions: not only the enormous burden of regulation but also quasi-regulatory burdens deriving from international treaties, taxation, financial and non-financial reporting and rules and governance standards.

The Independent Business Network (the IBN) of family businesses has previously addressed regulatory burdens. It is these latter non-regulatory, but equally burdensome matters, that its latest report focuses upon.

Arguably these are even more pernicious than regulation. At least regulation is subject to some democratic scrutiny, whereas the body of naysayers considered in the report are generally special interest groups driven or derived from a technocratic civil service or “quangocracy” all too often operating as a self-serving and rather “incestuous” sector of society.

Within the business world, an industry has been created to address these distractions, in particular driven by HR and compliance departments, who themselves derive power and influence from them.

Businesses are now required to address a panoply of issues ranging from DEI to Net Zero, all requiring resources and distracting from their main purpose - profit.

If we're to achieve the illusive growth and productivity of which politicians talk, but have little knowledge, business needs to be freed of these distractions. It turns out, no doubt to the chagrin of Marxists, that in the words of Gordon Gheko: greed really is good.