profit motive

American  

noun

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

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profit motive Cultural  

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

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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.)

Etymology

Origin of profit motive

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Sir Martyn says this "strong profit motive... bends the system out of shape".

From BBC

I think it is focusing on concrete issues like health care, like housing, like wages, but in doing so, making sure that the solutions are centered around the public good and not entirely informed by the profit motive.

From Salon

A refugee from Hitler’s Europe, Isaac has presided over his family-owned New York publishing house with little regard for the profit motive.

From Los Angeles Times

Other publications are trying to take the profit motive out of journalism.

From Seattle Times

It began as a nonprofit research lab because its founders didn’t think artificial intelligence should be pioneered by commercial firms, which are driven overwhelmingly by the profit motive.

From Seattle Times