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American business has been winning its points in the wrestling match about the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. It doesn’t seem to be concerned about the public relations battle.

It’s easy to understand that any business, given the choice of complete freedom or more government intervention, will opt for freedom to do things its own way. That’s human nature. Or, put another way, that’s looking at the world with a self-centered view, and we’re all susceptible to that.

There is a larger framework, however, and it reminds us how we got into the great recession in the first place. It’s quite possible for everyone to pursue his or her own self-interest, only to produce economic chaos as a result. Then everyone who pursued happiness together ends up suffering together.

So, even though it’s understandable that business leaders want lots of exemptions from new regulations that would govern their behavior, it’s still disappointing to watch them wriggling out from under the microscope.

The version of a Consumer Financial Protection Act that was debated last week already had given breaks to credit reporting agencies, car dealerships, real estate agents and tax preparers, among other groups.

The credit reporting agencies require trust to function. Some other sectors would benefit from more trust, too. That’s the thing to focus on in the long term.

Public relations, we admit, has a limited effect in this case. But trust trumps just about everything else in the business world.

It’s quite possible to add government regulation without damaging honest businesses that treat their customers properly. The merchants who don’t do that need regulation, because they are poisoning the well for everyone.

The trust of customers still matters. You can rely on the law of supply and demand – but if the people in your market don’t trust you, the corollary of “I’ll go somewhere else” comes into play.