A new bank is only going to lend to companies that benefit society, I read in a magazine article. The article’s theme was how bold! How wonderful!

I jumped out of my chair and shouted “Ho hum. No big deal.”

What companies benefit society? I outlined this article on an airplane flying across the country. The airline is moving me 3,000 miles, to a place where I really want to be. That’s a great benefit, so put airlines on the list of companies that benefit society.

I’m outlining this article on paper—a great medium for jotting down notes. So add the paper company to the list of businesses that benefit society. And don’t forget the company that made my pen.

Now I’m slow to think of another point, but fortunately the flight attendant is coming around with coffee. Hail to the coffee companies. They certainly benefit society.

There are plenty of companies without the obvious connections to my needs and desires that airlines and paper companies and coffee producers have. Do trucking companies, mining businesses and law firms benefit society?

The coffee is no good to me sitting in a warehouse. The trucking company that gets it to me is serving society, or at least the coffee-drinking portion of society. The pen that I’m writing with and the airplane I’m flying on have metal in them, so the mining company is benefiting society. And despite all the jokes about lawyers, I’ve gotten great benefit from an attorney looking at a draft of a contract and asking, “What do you want to do if this happens, or that happens?” Having thought about a wide range of possibilities is valuable, so even lawyers benefit society.

Now the noble bank that is only serving companies that benefit society seems like it would have lots of potential clients, though they won’t do business with bad companies, like those making toxic chemicals. However, one toxic chemical, jet fuel, is getting me across the country. The computer chip in my cool cell phone was made using toxic chemicals. Even though I want to make sure that toxic chemicals don’t get into my water, I benefit from a wide variety of toxic stuff.

It may sound like all companies benefit society, but that’s not actually true. There’s a restaurant just down the street from my office that didn’t benefit society. The resources it used—a building, labor, raw food—did not produce much value for society, as measured by people’s willingness to buy meals there. The company went bankrupt. Good riddance.

There are some companies that may not be benefiting society. My city has a company that wins contracts through political connections. I’m not sure that anyone is benefiting from them. Businesses that gain revenue without a market test—the person with the money choosing to spend it—may not be benefiting society. For them, we have to trust the political process to spend tax money in beneficial ways. (Please stop laughing.)