What is the notion of a business person? In order to answer this question, that has plagued so many for so long, one has to analyze the rights and responsibilities of a business person. On the one hand one can look at a business person as someone that merely facilitates trade between others, and is no more than a middle man who takes some profit for his/herself. The business person in this view, which is shared by Adam Smith, is merely someone who is there to make bartering less taxing on its participants. However, one can look at a business person in the same light as Ruskin, who states that "the merchant's function ... is to provide for the nation." Using this approach a business person's job is not to make money but rather to provide a very important service to his/her country.
             The practical differences between these approaches are quite large. For example, if one were to analyze Ronald Smithies example using the first approach, one would have to conclude that "G" should be let go of right away. If the sole purpose of one's business is to make money, then the last thing a business needs is someone like G working for the business. The risk of her damaging the business is out of proportion with the reward the business will get from hiring her. On the other hand, if one looks at this case using the second approach, it becomes clear that firing G is not the best solution. Ruskin states that "the merchant ... is invested with a distinctly paternal authority and responsibility." Clearly, firing G is not in G's best interests, and therefore as a business person one should not violate one's "paternal authority and responsibility" by not allowing G to work for one's business. Moreover, as a responsible business person, one should bend over backward in order to accommodate G, since it is evident that she needs the help.
             Another way of analyzing the difference in these t...