I read an interesting editorial a few back, in which the writer suggested that we lose our ability to feel compassion — and thus our humanity — when we put profit and growth at the TOP of the list of "what is important." Here in the US, the profit motive has been top of the list for... several generations. As a result, we no longer have the old form of free market capitalism that offered opportunities to mom and pop businesses... now we have predatory capitalism that actually suppresses opportunity while a handful of oligarchs run the show and control everything.