Harvard, There’s Nothing Wrong with Following the Money

Names of prestigious banks and investment funds. Technology giants. Consulting firms. All said in hushed tones.

The abashedness with which some of our classmates talk about perfectly respectable summer internships or post-graduation plans would make you think they had done something wrong.

Of course they have not. They are merely following market incentives. Rather than shaming students for pursuing high-paying careers, we need to rethink some preconceptions about the ability of market forces to result in societal good.

The populist conscience loves denigrating the contributions of bankers, technologists, and consultants, totally ignoring their fundamental roles in basic societal function.

Imagine your friends working on amazing new startups with products that might change the world. Some of those startups will grow to a point where they need to access capital — lots of it. That will take some help from private equity. And when your founder friend and those private investors want to hit the public markets? That’s where investment bankers come in.

And who do you think will endow professorships and research grants for your friends that choose to stay in academia to discover great leaps forward for humanity? Or donate to nonprofits to keep them afloat? Or pay the taxes that fund the allegedly important work of government? Take your pick out of the above.

That Harvard students have bought, hook, line, and sinker, into populist discourse that any of the people in this hypothetical are not meaningfully contributing to society is immature and downright embarrassing.

Everyone depends on everyone. The results of the free market are tangible and create enormous good for us all.

And the best part of the free market is that its invisible hand guides us all, without even aspiring to do so, to work for a better society.

The invisible hand demands that we merely be greedy. Everyone should abide by basic ethics, but in following the invisible hand, there is almost never a need to solve complex moral equations. Create the most value for yourself, and you will intrinsically do the same for society.

Make no mistake: I value the good that comes of non-profit work. Some people, sometimes for reasons they aren’t responsible for, are passed over by the free market — admittedly beautiful does not equate with perfect. Society needs people to feed the poor, expand opportunity, and otherwise help uplift the people the invisible hand wasn’t able to catch from falling. And even some good can occasionally come from government.

But the private sector accounts for a vast share of the value created for society. I respect that some people, often in an incredible act of self-sacrifice, are willing to forego market incentives and build value for society outside of the market paradigm. But there is nothing wrong with following the invisible hand, and those who choose to do so are not inherently lesser humans creating less societal good than those who do not.

There is an irony — cruel in many ways, funny in some — in the fact that those who are most likely to chase the demonized market incentives are those in greatest need.

It is no secret that students coming from modest backgrounds may be more compelled to seek well-paid occupations. The Crimson’s survey of graduating seniors last year found that students were more likely to work in finance if they did not anticipate receiving financial support from their family after graduating. Passing judgment might be a luxury good here; not everyone of modest means can afford to forgo the high-paying, purportedly ignoble work a share of our student body lambasts.

If you’re a climate activist, you’re an inspiration to us all — especially if you’re an heir to the Standard Oil name. Middle-class kids who just want to get ahead — no matter if the paycheck is drawn by Exxon — be damned.

Instead, we should celebrate the accomplishments, aspirations, and dreams of our classmates who are engaged in all manner of productive work. Look not to divide, but build a culture of seeking how we can all work together.

If you simply follow your own self-interest, the invisible hand will lead the way to help us all, together, build a brighter future.

Ian M. Moore ’26, a Crimson Editorial editor, is an Applied Mathematics concentrator in Quincy House.