Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu warns against a world driven entirely by profit

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has raised questions about whether every part of human life should be driven by profit, arguing that modern economic thinking risks creating a “dystopian world” when activities such as farming, teaching and healthcare are viewed mainly through a commercial lens. In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Sridhar Vembu asked whether society wants its farmers, teachers, doctors and priests to become profit-driven. “Do we want our farmers, teachers, doctors and priests to be profit-driven?,” he wrote. Vembu argued that modern finance and economic theory encourages almost all human activity to focus on profit, while overlooking the deeper social, cultural and spiritual foundations on which markets themselves depend.“Modern finance and economic theory encourages essentially all human activity to be profit-driven. This leads to a dystopian world,” he wrote.Sridhar Vembu says profit should support society's foundationsSridhar Vembu said the modern idea of the market is built on a wider “bedrock” of human civilisation, spirituality and culture that is not itself driven by market forces. According to him, some schools of economic thought either ignore this foundation or argue that economic forces shape everything else.He then raised a broader question about who should support these parts of society.“The ones who are in the ‘market’, companies like us,” Vembu wrote, suggesting that businesses have a role beyond generating financial returns.Vembu went further, arguing that the purpose of profit should be to help sustain what he described as society's basic foundations. He grouped these under four ideas: nature, nurture, culture and scripture, linking them to food, education, entertainment and spiritual life.Sridhar Vembu: Technology should be a means, not the final goalThe Zoho founder also shared his view on the role of technology, saying it should serve a larger purpose rather than become an end in itself.“I look at technology as the means to an end, not an end itself,” Vembu wrote.Get the latest technology news and updates. Download the TOI App.