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Going Far by Going Together: James M. Buchanan’s Economics of Shared Ethics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2021

Art Carden ,
Gregory W. Caskey Open the ORCID record for Gregory W. Caskey [Opens in a new window]  and
Zachary B. Kessler
Art Carden
Affiliation:
Samford University
Gregory W. Caskey
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Zachary B. Kessler
Affiliation:
George Mason University
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Abstract

We explore themes in Nobel Prize–winning economist James M. Buchanan’s work and apply his Ethics and Economic Progress to problems facing individuals and firms. We focus on Buchanan’s analysis of the individual work ethic, his exhortations to “pay the preacher” of the “institutions of moral-ethical communication,” and his notion of law as “public capital.” We highlight several ways people with other-regarding preferences can contribute to social flourishing and some of the ways those who have “affected to trade for the public good” might want to redirect their efforts. We show how Buchanan’s work has considerable implications for business ethics. Just as his economic analysis of politics changed how we understand government, we think his economic analysis of ethics can (and should) change how we understand business.

Keywords

James M. Buchananeconomicsbusiness ethicspublic choicenormsvalues
Type
Article
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , July 2022 , pp. 359 - 373
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for Business Ethics

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