A more ethical economic system is now possible, one that rectifies the crisis spots of our current downturn while balancing the injustices of extreme poverty and wealth. Adam Arvidsson and Nicolai Peitersen, a scholar and an entrepreneur, outline the shape such an economy might take, identifying its origins in innovations already existent in our production, valuation, and distribution systems. Much like nineteenth-century entrepreneurs, philosophers, bankers, artisans, and social organizers who planned a course for modern capitalism that was more economically efficient and ethically desirable, we now have a chance to construct new instruments, institutions, and infrastructure to reverse the trajectory of a quickly deteriorating economic environment. Considering a multitude of emerging phenomena, Arvidsson and Peitersen show wealth creation can be the result of a new kind of social production, and the motivation of continuous capital accumulation can exist in tandem with a new desire to maximize our social impact. Arvidsson and Peitersen argue that financial markets could become a central arena in which diverse ethical concerns are integrated into tangible economic valuations. They suggest that such a common standard has already emerged and that this process is linked to the spread of social media, making it possible to capture the sentiment of value to most people. They ultimately recommend how to build upon these developments to initiate a radical democratization of economic systems and the value decisions they generate.

John Maynard Keynes wrote to his grandchildren more than fifty years ago about their economic possibilities, and thus about our own: "I see us free, there fore, to return to some of the most sure and certain principles of religion and traditional virtue - that avarice is a vice, that the exaction of usury is a misde meanour. . . . We shall once more value ends above means and prefer the good to the useful" ("Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren," pp. 371-72). In the year 1930 Keynes regarded these prospects as realizable only after a time span ofone hundred years, ofwhich we have now achieved more than half. The pres ent book does not share Keynes's view that the possibility of an integration of ethics and economics is dependent exclusively on the state of economic devel opment, though this integration is certainly made easier by an advantageous total economic situation. The conditions of an economy that is becoming post of ethics, cultural industrial and post-modern are favorable for the unification theory, and economics. Economic development makes a new establishment of economic ethics and a theory ofethical economy necessary. Herdecke and Hanover, October 1987 P. K. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword v Introduction . 0. 1. Ethical Economy and Political Economy . . 0. 1. 1. Ethical Economy as Theory ofthe Ethical Presuppositions of the Economy and Economic Ethics 3 0. 1. 2.

Should the idea of economic man—the amoral and self-interested Homo economicus—determine how we expect people to respond to monetary rewards, punishments, and other incentives? Samuel Bowles answers with a resounding “no.” Policies that follow from this paradigm, he shows, may “crowd out” ethical and generous motives and thus backfire. But incentives per se are not really the culprit. Bowles shows that crowding out occurs when the message conveyed by fines and rewards is that self-interest is expected, that the employer thinks the workforce is lazy, or that the citizen cannot otherwise be trusted to contribute to the public good. Using historical and recent case studies as well as behavioral experiments, Bowles shows how well-designed incentives can crowd in the civic motives on which good governance depends.

In the wake of economic crisis on a global scale, more and more people are reconsidering their role in the economy and wondering what they can do to make it work better for humanity and the planet. In this innovative book, J. K. Gibson-Graham, Jenny Cameron, and Stephen Healy contribute complex understandings of economics in practical terms: what can we do right now, in our own communities, to make a difference? Full of exercises, thinking tools, and inspiring examples from around the world, Take Back the Economy shows how people can implement small-scale changes in their own lives to create ethical economies. There is no manifesto here, no one prescribed model; rather, readers are encouraged and taught how to take back the economy in ways appropriate for their own communities and context, using what they already have at hand. Take Back the Economy dismantles the idea that the economy is separate from us and best comprehended by experts. Instead, the authors demonstrate that the economy is the outcome of the decisions and efforts we make every day. The economy is thus reframed as a space of ethical action—something we can shape and alter according to what is best for the well-being of people and the planet. The book explores what people are already doing to build ethical economies, presenting these deeds as mutual concerns: What is necessary for survival, and what do we do with the surplus produced beyond what will fulfill basic needs? What do we consume, and how do we preserve and replenish the commons—those resources that can be shared to maintain all? And finally, how can we invest in a future worth living in? Suitable for activists and students alike, Take Back the Economy will be of interest to anyone seeking a more just, sustainable, and equitable world.

This textbook applies economic ethics to evaluate the free market system and enables students to examine the impact of free markets using the three main ethical approaches: utilitarianism, principle-based ethics and virtue ethics. Ethics and Economics systematically links empirical research to these ethical questions, with a focus on the core topics of happiness, inequality and virtues. Each chapter offers a recommended further reading list. The final chapter provides a practical method for applying the different ethical approaches to morally evaluate an economic policy proposal and an example of the methodology being applied to a real-life policy. This book will give students a clear theoretical and methodological toolkit for analyzing the ethics of market policies, making it a valuable resource for courses on economic ethics and economic philosophy.

Ethical Prospects: Economy, Society, and Environment aims to present and summarize new perspectives and leading-edge results in ethics reflecting on interconnected economic, social and environmental issues. The yearbook reports on innovative practices and policy reforms and provides a forum for discussion about groundbreaking theories. The main function of the yearbook is to present ideas and initiatives that lead toward responsible business practices, policies for the common good and ecological sustainability. It seeks to form a value-community of scholars, practitioners and policymakers engaged in genuine ethics in business, environmental management, and public policy.

This book investigates the functioning and effects of moral rules and values as endogenous elements of governance structures when applied to economic and social transactions. The point of departure and framework of this book is Josef Wieland's theory of Ethics of Governance. Its focal point is the governance of the normative aspects of corporations. The Ethics of Governance is a comparative research project on business and economic ethics which started 15 years ago. Divided into five chapters, the book provides a comprehensive insight into the theoretical foundation and application-oriented results of the research project. It covers theoretical, conceptual and practical challenges in the global economy with regard to a sustainable economy, the social responsibility of corporations, and their transcultural and normative management. By offering comprehensive insight into the research results of the Ethics of Governance project, this book provides a unique scientific work on business and economic ethics.