Ethics Efficiency And The Market

This is a systematic evaluation of the main arguments for and against the market as an instrument of social organization, balancing efficiency and justice . It links the distinctive approaches of philosophy and economics to this evaluation.

The Ethics of the Market makes a distinctive contribution to the literature on the morality of the market by synthesizing the work of a number of liberal scholars into a systematic defence of the free market on ethical grounds. This defence addresses questions of social justice, the moral pre-requisites of a market economy, the nature of the needs that the market satisfies and the appropriate boundaries that should be placed around the operation of the market.

This clear and incisive book provides the ideal critical synthesis of the best thinking on one of the most important moral, social, and political issues of our time: the role of the market as a basic institution of social organization. It articulates the two main types of arguments for and against the market--efficiency arguments and ethical arguments--and examines their conceptual, empirical, and moral presuppositions, as well as their implications for capitalist, socialist, and market-socialist economic arragements. Among the many striking features of the argument is Buchanan's contention that the allegedly purely technical notions of efficiency current in the social science literature rest on unexamined ethical assumptions and that the ethical arguments offered by philosophers and political theorists depend upon unexamined assumptions about efficiency. Buchanan also contends that the problem of relativism for judgments comparing social systems is no less serious for efficiency claims than for ethical claims. This short, accessible book will raise the quality of the debate in both philosophy and the social sciences. It is an ideal introduction to its subject for students in political and social theory, economics, comparative politics, and philosophy.

This text introduces readers to the relationship between economics and ethics and to the application of economic ethics in the evaluation of the market. The insights it provides help to develop the reasoning and analytical skills needed to criticize economic analysis as well as to apply ethical concepts to moral issues in economic policy.

Despite the continuing dominance of market relations and market forces in contemporary society, there remain fundamental questions about the ethical acceptability of markets and their effects. This collection, based on the 1998 conference of the Society for Applied Philosophy, brings philosophical analysis and argument to bear on these questions. Papers in the first half of the volume examine the relation between the market and central ethical concepts - concepts of value, quality of life, quality of environment, community, equality of opportunity and morality itself. In the second part, the focus is on the relation between markets and specific social phenomena such as privatization, poverty and exclusion, the ’ethical consumer’ movement and the operation of market principles in the National Health Service. The views and arguments presented in the papers do not stem from any single moral or philosophical perspective, but together they add up to a comprehensive review of the ethical problems raised by market societies. The book will be of interest to students and researchers in philosophy, economics, business studies, politics and social theory and to anyone interested in the effect of market forces on the quality of our lives.

Comprising cutting-edge work on the state of social economics today, this theoretically diverse book includes strong emphasis on the role of ethics, morality, identity, and society in economic theorizing. Much existing economic theory overlooks ethics. Rather than situating the market and values at separate extremes of a continuum, Ethics and the Market contends that the two are necessarily and intimately related. This volume brings together some of the best work in the social economics tradition, with strong contributions and pedagogy, and a cross-national blend of economics, philosophy, and policy. The contributors embed the economic within the social, rather than viewing 'the economy' and 'society' as separable spheres of life activity, and in so doing, three key themes are illuminated, corresponding to the volume's tripartite structure: Morality and Markets Redefining the Boundaries of Economics Social Economics in Transition. Ethics and the Market illuminates the diverse and dynamic theoretical approaches that are employed in social economics, reflecting on their continuously evolving relationship with neoclassical economics. Taking an innovative approach, this integrative book challenges traditional ways of thinking, and will prove vital reading for students and academics in the fields of Economics, Sociology, Gender Studies, and Public Policy.

In this collection of provocative essays, Joseph Heath provides a compelling new framework for thinking about the moral obligations that private actors in a market economy have toward each other and to society. In a sharp break with traditional approaches to business ethics, Heath argues that the basic principles of corporate social responsibility are already implicit in the institutional norms that structure both marketplace competition and the modern business corporation. In four new and nine previously published essays, Heath articulates the foundations of a "market failures" approach to business ethics. Rather than bringing moral concerns to bear upon economic activity as a set of foreign or externally imposed constraints, this approach seeks to articulate a robust conception of business ethics derived solely from the basic normative justification for capitalism. The result is a unified theory of business ethics, corporate law, economic regulation, and the welfare state, which offers a reconstruction of the central normative preoccupations in each area that is consistent across all four domains. Beyond the core theory, Heath offers new insights on a wide range of topics in economics and philosophy, from agency theory and risk management to social cooperation and the transaction cost theory of the firm.

In the global financial crisis, the need to develop a new kind of economy with a closer relation between ethics and economics has become an important challenge to the international society. This book contributes to this debate by investigating different aspects of global business ethics and corporate social responsibility which are becoming more and more important in the ongoing discussions on the relation between market institutions and democratic governments. The different chapters of the book deal with fundamental philosophical issues of the ethics of the market economy, including discussions of the role of the social sciences and economics in contributing to a sustainable economics and global responsibility in the twenty-first century. In this sense, the book takes up the transnational debate on ethics and economics in order to contribute to a more balanced, fair, just and conscientious development in the world. The book starts with a European perspective on these issues, based on philosophical, sociological and economic views from Europe. These views are further developed in order to share thoughts of how to improve corporate social responsibility, welfare and justice, and the advancement of ethical principles in the international context. It is argued that in the international community, good corporate citizenship as social and environmental responsibility is realized through individual and organizational cosmopolitan responsibility for fostering the common good for humanity. The chapters of the book were originally presented at a conference in Copenhagen, organized together with the German Cultural Institute - the Goethe Institute of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School and Roskilde University, Denmark.