Ethical Issues Business Ethics

Capitalism Capitalism is a market economy within a system of unstable financial relations subject to speculative excess

Virtue Theory What types of people does such a system produce? –Does it produce virtuous, balanced individual?

Rights How does the system balance property rights with other rights? –Speculators have a right to do what the desire with their property –Are there other important rights? A right to a certain level of well-being? A right to a decent wage? A right to affordable housing? A right to participate in the equity markets?

Rights to Well-being American middle class families are drowning in debt. –In the second quarter of 2006, families had to spend 14.4 percent of their disposable income to service their debt — the largest share since –Family savings are -0.6 percent, the second lowest level since the Great Depression. Wages continue to stagnate, even though Americans are working harder than ever. –Median household income has actually declined under the Bush administration, from $47,599 in 2000 to $46,326 in 2005, even though productivity is up 18.4 percent.

Rights to Well-being Americans are also having to spend more and work longer to pay for basic middle-class items. –In the first quarter of this year, "a typical two-earner, middle-class couple had to work 31.2 weeks to pay for housing, medical care, and transportation and to save for their kids' college education," –This is an annualized increase of 1.3 percent in just one quarter.

Justice Is the recurrent tendency of the Federal Reserve to bail out speculators fair to the middle class? Is an economic system that replaces increasing wages with increasing debt a just one?

Utilitarianism Does the fiat money system that favors speculators create the greatest good for the greatest number? –For investors –For consumers –For employees –For communities

Common Good Securing the common good means –putting the public interest above narrow self-interest and group demands; –working to achieve social and economic conditions that benefit everyone; – promoting a personal, governmental and corporate ethic of responsibility and service to others; –creating a more open and honest governmental structure that relies upon an engaged and participatory citizenry; –doing more to meet our common responsibilities to aid the disadvantaged

Common Good Is a society that is in a speculative stage capable of implementing such policies for the common good?