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Unfettered Or Tempered Capitalism? How Best To Promote Virtuous Characters, Earl Spurgin
Unfettered Or Tempered Capitalism? How Best To Promote Virtuous Characters, Earl Spurgin
Earl W. Spurgin
The article reviews the book "The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce," by Deirdre N. McCloskey
Looking For Answers In All The Wrong Places, Earl Spurgin
Looking For Answers In All The Wrong Places, Earl Spurgin
Earl W. Spurgin
In recent years, many business ethicists have raised problems with the "ethics pays" credo. Despite these problems, many continue to hold it. I argue that support for the credo leads business ethicists away from a potentially fruitful approach found in Hume's moral philosophy. I begin by demonstrating that attempts to support the credo fail because proponents are trying to provide an answer to the "Why be moral?" question that is based on rational self-interest. Then, I show that Hume's sentiments-based moral theory provides an alternative to the credo that points toward a more fruitful approach to business ethics. Along the …