have been around for a long time that provide value to some individuals but that provide overall negative value to society.
Some very easy examples: tobacco industry, vaping industry, porn industry.
Other examples: payday loan companies, very aggressive towing companies in Provo, companies like TMZ, MLMs
I’m not directly relating PE to any of these, but proving a point that “the free market hasn’t weeded it out” isn’t a ringing endorsement to the value of companies/industries