Profit, Self-Interest, National Wealth

Four ways of generating Profit are: 1. Adding value to material via Labor on it; 2. Owning the means used in #1; 3. Stealing; and 4. Interest.  Now, the main debate in Economics over the past two centuries has been in the case where #1 and #2 are not identical, whether or #2 becomes #3.  Socialists, of course, claim that it does, but, rather than denying it, Capitalists who do not ignore the challenge tend to also affirm it, but with some justification, e. g. Social Darwinists.  In any case, #1 is unlike the others in two ways.  First, the Profit that it generates does not entail a corresponding Loss by someone else.  Second, the process can involve personal growth, e. g. the exercise of skill in the transformation of raw material.  So, a responsible defense of Smith's system needs to explain both how an increase in personal wealth contributes to that of a nation, and how Self-Interest and Profit-seeking are identical in cases that do not involve personal growth.