> They could price their products so they don't make any "extra" money each year
Isn't that precisely what you get from competitive pressure in a free market? Things end up priced barely above production costs.
> I think we'd live in a better world if a company like Apple didn't exist to make ever increasing profits, but existed just to create the products they create.
That would be a nicer world to live, true. Unfortunately, we've created a system in which the primary reason for a company to exist is to make profits - and then we pit companies against each other to minimize profits made. The end result is a lot of creativity unleashed in the process of innovating, cheating and defrauding your way into not being a commodity.
Isn't that precisely what you get from competitive pressure in a free market? Things end up priced barely above production costs.
> I think we'd live in a better world if a company like Apple didn't exist to make ever increasing profits, but existed just to create the products they create.
That would be a nicer world to live, true. Unfortunately, we've created a system in which the primary reason for a company to exist is to make profits - and then we pit companies against each other to minimize profits made. The end result is a lot of creativity unleashed in the process of innovating, cheating and defrauding your way into not being a commodity.