A certain segment of the population has always been leery of the wealthy and powerful, because their power and wealth frequently came at the expense of others. But what if it is time for a new paradigm? What if we could make money for doing what is good and what is right?

There are two ways to make money: by force or by creating value. And for much of history, a majority of wealthy has been created by force, although in recent decades more and more wealth is being created by creating value.

You may ask, what do I mean by force vs. value. Let’s take a look.

Creating wealth by force:

The most obvious uses of force to gain wealth would be stealing or manipulating, but it goes beyond that. It includes monopolies or near monopolies where customers are forced to purchase from a specific vendor, or could include one sided contracts that favor one party of another, or cartel-like pricing. In all these cases, people are forced to give up some of their wealth and have little choice of alternatives. They may indeed receive some value, but it is typically not equal to what they are paying. Or, it could include destructive products & services, like arms dealing and drugs, which frequently use force to operate in the market, or encourage others (terrorists & governments) to use force.

Creating wealth by creating value:

The other way to create wealth is by creating value. In this case, a product or service is provided that serves a need, and is fairly priced. Typically there is also competition as well, which encourages fair & competitive pricing. People are not forced into using the products or services from a particular vendor, but instead want to do business with that vendor. Additionally, the product or service produces value to as many people as possible (company owners & shareholders, management, employees, customers, and the community).

Creating wealth by force and creating value:

Many big corporations use both tactics to make money. They create products and services that are indeed valuable, but then sometimes resort to forceful tactics (such as one sided contacts or consumer-hostile return policies) or attempt to create a monopoly or near monopoly to ensure their dominance (e.g. Microsoft, Standard Oil, Bell Telephone Company, etc.).

What if we focused on the value part more than the force part? What if we had a conscience on how the money was made?

I don’t have any problem with people getting rich. In fact I would encourage more good people to do so. The more good rich people there are on the planet, who truly care about their communities and their planet, the better the world will be.

Can we transform the creating of wealth from being obtained by force to being obtained by creating value? I think we can. I see examples of people using a new way to make money, and I see the old way of making money too. It is possible to get wealthy either way.

The wealth is out there. Enough for everyone. But that is another paradigm that needs to shift too.

Faith, Love and Hope. And creating value which creates wealth.