Business Ethics

Introduction

1. business--a system of exchange of labor, products, and/or currency based on an economy
2. economy--generally: the way by which people harness energy to form social relations

1. products are objects of value because of their energy
2. currency is the measure of value in such a system

1. business ethics--the evaluation of a an economy as to whether and in what way it promotes the "good"

1. the moral backdrop of economies
2. there is not "blind economy"
3. "In the middle ages we counted angels, but now we count money" (Karl Marx)

Economic Systems and Morality

1. Adam Smith and the Free Market System

1. economy is guided by the "invisible hand" of supple and demand
2. market is neutral to social values
3. goal--consumption
4. value--power is possession

1. John Maynard Keynes and State Management of an Economy

1. the right to full employment--society's basic need
2. government is the best guide
3. goal--greatest amount of happiness

1. Frederick List and the National Interest of an Economy

1. an economy is to produce and exercise dominance
2. it's an expression of a nations' goals
3. value is political power

1. Robert Bellah and the Invasion of the Lifeworld

1. an economic system is a means to an end
2. lifeworld--the making and keeping of moral norms
3. systems are defining lifeworlds
4. job culture has invaded the family culture
5. the struggle between superficial and real values