Whole Foods’ CEO John Mackey, who is certainly not a conventional business executive, provides in this Stephen Moore/WSJ interview a compelling counterbalance to Michael Moore’s indictment of a market-based economy:

His odyssey from a long-haired counterculture anticapitalist in the early 1970s to running a company that now has $8 billion in sales and 280 stores—is a remarkable tale in itself. He attended the University of Texas where he studied philosophy and religion. [. . .]

Before I started my business, my political philosophy was that business is evil and government is good. I think I just breathed it in with the culture. Businesses, they’re selfish because they’re trying to make money."

At age 25, John Mackey was mugged by reality. "Once you start meeting a payroll you have a little different attitude about those things." This insight explains why he thinks it’s a shame that so few elected officials have ever run a business. "Most are lawyers," he says, which is why Washington treats companies like cash dispensers.

Mr. Mackey’s latest crusade involves traveling to college campuses across the country, trying to persuade young people that business, profits and capitalism aren’t forces of evil.  .  .  .

Read the entire interview. Providing jobs for communities and creating wealth for investors are good things. It’s unfortunate that more executives such as Mackey aren’t reminding us of that.