[vonnik]

Profit is a very clear feedback loop. You go broke or you don’t. In that sense, it keeps you honest. There are pathologies of profit, such as building something people want, which is bad for them. Hello Big Food and Addictive social media.

But there are pathologies for these abstract ideals you mention too. Namely that they are hard to measure and therefore attract bullshit artists. They make it easy to fool yourself and others.

The best thing is to solve a real problem others have, thereby doing good, and to do so in a self-sustaining way, which is also called profit.