Aristotle gives us a pointer on capitalism - letter in Financial Times

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Sir, John Plender notes, correctly, that the motivations of successful capitalists are often not pretty (“Capitalists excel at giving themselves a bad name”, January 26). As on so many matters, Aristotle’s analysis remains not only challenging but, perhaps, gives us a pointer in the right direction. He thought that the motivation for economic activity was all-important. The improvement of life is a virtuous end to commerce, even if money is made. But when money becomes the primary motivation, sight is lost of that virtuous end. If Cecil Rhodes had built this consideration into his business life, perhaps his statue would not be in the news. Or maybe it would be a statue of someone else. Owen Kelly