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Fall 2006

ISSN 0890-913X

Volume 22, Number 1

Categories: Philosophy | Fall 2006

The Kantian Ethic of Capitalism

Harold B. Jones, Jr., Mercer College

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JournalofPrivateEntelprise,VolumeXXII,Fall2006TheKantianEthicofCapitalismHaroldB.Jones,Jr.MercerUniversitySomeauthors(e.g.,Evan&Freeman,1993;Phillips,2003)havesuggestedKantianethicsasafoundationforschemesdesignedtoputlimitationsonthepossibilitiesforvoluntaryexchange.ThisisamisuseofKant.Astheultimateexpressionofclassicalliberalism,Kant'smoralphilosophyprovidesanethicalendorsementforexactlythesystemofeconomicsthatwasdescribedbyKant'scontemporaryAdamSmith.Thepresentarticleoutlinesthatphilosophyandshowshowitisrelatedtotheprinciplesoffree-marketcapitalism.WhoWasImmanuelKant?KantwasborninPrussiain1724,ayearafterAdamSmithwasborninScotland.Hisfatherwasasaddler,andforallhislifeKantdisplayedthecommonsenseattitudesofasmallentrepreneur.Hiswritingisfilledwithcatchphraseshemusthavepickedupatthefamilydinnertable:"Contractnodebtforwhichyoucannotgivesecurity";"bethrifty,then,sothatyouwillnotbecomedestitute";"benoman'slackey"(Kant,1996b,188);"hewhowouldliketoeatbreadshouldcontriveamill"(Kant,1996a,40).Laterinhislife,hisclosestcompanionswerebusinessmen,andeventhemostspeculativeofhistreatisesisfilledwithexpressionshehadpickedupfromthem(Kuehn,2001,241).Inoneplacehesays,"Itisbadeconomytospendblindlywhatevercomesinwithoutbeingablelater...todistinguishthepartoftherevenuethatcancovertheexpensesfromthepartthatmustbecut"(Kant,1998,207).Inanotherplace,hedescribesanargumentasparticularlyweakbysayingitislikeamerchanttryingto"improvehisfinancialstatebyaddingafewzeroestohiscashbalance"(569).Hereceivedhisdoctoratein1755andwasallowedtolectureasHaroldJones,Jr.37

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Metadata [hide]

Title	The Kantian Ethic of Capitalism
Authors/Creators:	Harold B. Jones, Jr., Mercer College
Year:	2006
Volume:	22
Number:	1
Pages:	37 - 52
Publisher:	The Association of Private Enterprise Education
ISSN:	0890-913X
Document Type:	Articles
Keywords:	Ethics, Kant, Adam Smith, Market economy, Categorical imperative, Role of government, Altruism, Capitalism

Citation:
Jones, Jr., Harold B. / 2006. "The Kantian Ethic of Capitalism." The Journal of Private Enterprise, 22(1): 37-52.