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Curated by: Richard J Murphy (21 videos)
What is a business? The conventional economic answer tends to focus on firms, markets, capital and profit. I think that misses the most important part of the story: people. Business is organised human activity. People work together to make things, provide services, solve problems and meet needs. Companies, markets and capital can all play a role in that process, but none of them is the same thing as business itself. That distinction matters because it changes how we think about profit. A genuine business needs sufficient income to survive, invest and continue its activities. But that does not mean maximising profit is its purpose. Profit can be a means of sustaining a business rather than the reason why the business exists. That then raises a much bigger question. If human work creates value, why does conventional accounting treat labour as a cost while treating the residual profit as belonging to capital? I also look at the responsibilities businesses have to workers, customers, suppliers, communities, government, and the environment they depend on, and stress that business and capitalism are not synonymous. Understanding the difference might fundamentally change how we think about business, companies, work, profit and who should benefit from economic activity. This video is part of my Understanding Economics series, which explains economics as it operates in the real world. You can watch the rest of this series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSguNBvHIto Take a look at the poll below: https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxkUNwpL5TN2wVOWKEe3mKc0VuJ1bqDca3 TRANSCRIPT A transcript for this video is available at: https://www.taxresearch.org.uk IF YOU WANT TO WRITE TO YOUR MP ABOUT ISSUES IN THIS VIDEO If you want to write a letter to your MP on the issues raised in this blog post, there is a ChatGPT prompt to assist you in doing so, with full instructions, here. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/06/20/chatgpt-prompt-for-a-letter-to-your-mp/ HOW TO SUPPORT US Please consider donating: https://ko-fi.com/taxresearch ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’. This video was edited by Thomas Murphy. RICHARD MURPHY ON BLUESKY: https://bsky.app/profile/richardjmurphy.bsky.social OR ON MY BLOG: http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/ HIT SUBSCRIBE & GET NOTIFICATIONS Subscribe and get notified of new videos released. INTRODUCTION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdHsRPy3060 PLAYLISTS: The Wealth Series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobQLeyZYAagFDMjEFTKbhRD Ecenomics https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob54Gs-fOL-8OAQ-IpduwB4 Britain https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobwTT4ATvJjsf8OO6S7wD10 Tax https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoaMni_12J6ULp3yUJisUZoY MMT https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoZ6jvRGSW5YXu8qogE6aClX Money https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYnLk1c7syTvoIo8bKYUs5m Climate Change https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob4_wsYaVivWd2WumpPLYwJ USA https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYYd3dSyU2Oyl3x7bWJOP7H Labour https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoa-KhzG-fnjDSg1WROL1zMw The Trump Administration https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobz41-GLimTho27A3flVWQx #richardmurphy #richardjmurphy #economy #economics #accountancy #accounting #tax #uktax #ukeconomy #greennewdeal #uk #money #economy #politics #government #tax #labour #health #life