--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker…" description: "\"“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/yuval-noah-harari-100_free-market_yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker_30897.jpg" --- # Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his… ![“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that the free market would protect the employees. If our shoemaker pays too little and demands too much, the best employees would naturally abandon him…” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/yuval-noah-harari-100_free-market_yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker_30897.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/yuval-noah-harari-100_free-market_yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker_30897.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/yuval-noah-harari-100_free-market_yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker_30897.jpg) > ““Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that the free market would protect the employees. If our shoemaker pays too little and demands too much, the best employees would naturally abandon him and go to work for his competitors. The tyrant shoemaker would find himself left with the worst labourers, or with no labourers at all. He would have to mend his ways or go out of business. His own greed would compel him to treat his employees well.”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage argues that market competition forces exploitative employers to improve labor conditions, because workers will leave for better pay and hours elsewhere, leaving the greedy employer with a shortage of talent or no workforce. **In simple terms:** Market forces discipline exploitative employers. Key Takeaway Greed is self‑correcting in competitive markets. Themes economics labor rights competition morality incentives Mood critical analytical Type philosophical economic When to use this quote - small business management - labor negotiations - policy debates on wage regulation - entrepreneurial ethics Key Concepts supply and demand human capital profit motive Practical Applications - designing fair compensation structures - advocating for worker protections Questions to Reflect On - Does competition always ensure fair wages? - What happens when workers lack alternatives? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Employees Shoemaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employees-shoemaker-426325/) [Free market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-market/) [Greedy Shoemaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greedy-shoemaker-426323/) [Shoemaker Increases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoemaker-increases-426326/) [Shoemaker Pays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoemaker-pays-426324/) [Tyrant Shoemaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrant-shoemaker-426327/) ## Related quotes > [“In order to reach parity in conventional armament, Western countries would probably have had to scrap liberal democracy and the free market, and become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/in-order-to-reach-parity-in-conventional-armament-western-countries/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“This is the fly in the ointment of free-market capitalism. 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