Commerce as a profession
In all organizations commerce has an indisputable place. Where there is buying and selling commerce begins. Just like the producer, the commercial group is one of the important pillars of society. Without this group things cannot move from place to place and find a market. The producer will not be able to find a suitable market for his goods and wares. The consumer is assured of his product in season and out of season, thanks to the commercial people. So commerce as a profession is a must in any society.
To be successful in commerce it requires a lot of training and shrewdness and common sense. A successful commercial man knows when and where to buy and where and how to sell. He knows also the taste of the people; may be, nowadays, he creates a taste by intelligent advertisement and marketing operations. He takes a certain risk in stocking goods and for which he gets a return called profit. So far as it is within a reasonable range, to get and make profit is quite legitimate. The morality of huge profit is being discussed subsequently.
Commerce as a profession is rather risky as mentioned above for the simple reason that money in the form of capital will have to be ploughed in; it must be properly utilized in buying and selling. Otherwise it would be a dead capital. There is a period of waiting in between production and sales. Even in the course of production, it may mean a long time of waiting. Raw materials will have to be handled, labor wisely managed, things produced up to the standard and the customers pleased. In between the commercial man must keep his body and soul together. So to be a successful commercial man it requires a lot of training, background and, believe it or not, a stroke of luck.
As mentioned earlier if one knows how to buy and sell, he can choose commerce as a profession. Psychologically he must have a mental equipment for success in this career. He must be a successful mixer, a good conversationalist, and one who could argue his way without wounding the susceptibilities of his customer. He should be a good contact man and must be able to pinch without making the other fellow feel it. He must be aware of the possible competition and know how to pilot his wares. He must have the horse’s sense. Thus to become a successful commercial man one must be naturally endowed with the qualities mentioned; other than the required training. That is why today, business management has been raised to the level of high, sophisticated science.
Because the commercial man makes a profit he has always been looked upon with suspicion; much more so after the publication of ‘Das Capital’. There are two opinions about it and it is very difficult to reconcile between the two. But where the government themselves have taken upon production, there is nothing on record to say they have done spectacularly well. The profit motive is not such a crime provided the profit is out of all proportions. The profit motive acts as an incentive and there is rapid expansion of production. Suppose either Great Britain or the USA were to have become a communist country in the middle of the nineteenth century they would not have achieved many of the things they had.
Commerce, appears to be a jealous profession and unless one is clever to navigate safely in turbulent waters, Commerce should be given up. Governments must realize that some freedom given to the commercial people will ultimately do good to the country. They should realize it it the commercial man who feeds the coffers of the government much more than any other class in society.
