Show or hide comments about the document.
Search over the document's text.
Share the document through social networks or e-mail.
After selecting an area on the page.
...you can:
copy the text
share the segment
comment
cite the document

Spring 2009

ISSN 0890-913X

Volume 24, Number 2

Categories: Spring 2009 | Business

Making Room for Business Ethics: Rights as Metanorms for Market and Moral Values

Douglas B. Rasmussen, St. John's University

Douglas J. Den Uyl, Liberty Fund

Download

e-mail

<< Back to editing
Previous version by
<< Older
Newer >>
Revert to this one

Edit
Cancel
Fullscreen

Show comments
Zoom:
Page: / 19

Line spacing:
Word spacing:

Search:FindClose

search results

TheJournalofPrivateEnterprise24(2),2009,1-19MakingRoomforBusinessEthics:RightsasMetanormsforMarketandMoralValuesDouglasB.RasmussenSt.John’sUniversityDouglasJ.DenUylLibertyFundAbstractBusinessethicsneednotbebusinessbashingifsystemiccriticismsoftheinstitutionsthatdefinecapitalismaredifferentiatedfromcriticismsoftheimmoralactivitiesofparticularpersonsandfirms.Theformerrequiresanexaminationoftheethicalprinciples(individualrights)thatgivesupportandmeaningtocapitalistinstitutions,andthelatterrequiresanexaminationofthepurposeofbusiness(pursuitofprofit).Neitherthemoralsignificanceoftheinstitutionsofcapitalismnortheactivitiesofpersonsandfirmscanbeproperlyunderstoodwithouttherealizationthatethicalprinciplesarenotofonetype–that“equinormativity”isfalse.JELCodes:A12,A13,M14Keywords:Businessethics;Capitalism;Liberalism;Individualrights;MetanormsAsocialsystemisasetofmoral-political-economicprinciplesembodiedinasociety’slaws,institutions,andgovernment,whichdeterminetherelationships,thetermsofassociation,amongthemenlivinginagivengeographicalarea….Capitalismisasocialsystembasedontherecognitionofindividualrights,includingpropertyrights,inwhichallpropertyisprivatelyowned.–AynRand,“WhatisCapitalism?”Capitalism:TheUnknownIdealI.IntroductionWeareprobablyallfamiliarwiththehackneyedremark:“‘Businessethics,’there’sanoxymoronforyou.”Sometimesitisevensaidthat‘profit’isafour-letterword.Indeed,muchofwhat1

GLIFOS-digital_archive

Metadata [hide]

Title	Making Room for Business Ethics: Rights as Metanorms for Market and Moral Values
Authors/Creators:	Douglas B. Rasmussen, St. John's University Douglas J. Den Uyl, Liberty Fund
Year:	2009
Volume:	24
Number:	2
Pages:	1 - 19
Publisher:	The Association of Private Enterprise Education
ISSN:	0890-913X
Document Type:	Business Ethics
Keywords:	Ethics, Capitalism, Rights, Market economy, Individual rights, Liberalism, Freedom, Social institutions, Legal institutions, Economic Systems, Private ownership, Profit

Citation:
Rasmussen, Douglas B.; Den Uyl, Douglas J. / 2009. "Making Room for Business Ethics: Rights as Metanorms for Market and Moral Values." The Journal of Private Enterprise, 24(2): 1-19.