Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T15:41:25.007Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Business Ethics and (or as) Political Philosophy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Joseph Heath ,
Jeffrey Moriarty  and
Wayne Norman
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

There is considerable overlap between the interests of business ethicists and those of political philosophers. Questions about the moral justifiability of the capitalist system, the basis of property rights, and the problem of inequality in the distribution of income have been of central importance in both fields. However, political philosophers have developed, especially over the past four decades, a set of tools and concepts for addressing these questions that are in many ways quite distinctive. Most business ethicists, on the other hand, consider their field to be primarily a domain of applied ethics, and so adopt methods and conceptual frameworks developed by moral philosophers. In this paper, we discuss some of the salient differences between these two approaches, and suggest some ways in which business ethicists could benefit from taking a more “political philosophy” approach to these questions. Throughout, we underline the importance of seeking greater compatibility among the principles used in normative theorizing about markets, regulations, corporate governance, and business practices.

Type
Business Ethics Quarterly: Twentieth Anniversary Forum, Part I: New Directions for Business Ethics Research
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , July 2010 , pp. 427 - 452
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Andriof, J., & McIntosh, M. 2001. Perspectives on corporate citizenship. Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf.Google Scholar
Arneson, R. A. 1993. Democratic rights at national and workplace levels. In Copp, D., Hampton, J. & Roemer, J. (Eds.), The idea of democracy: 118–48. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Arnold, D. G., & Bowie, N. E. 2003. Sweatshops and respect for persons. Business Ethics Quarterly, 13: 221–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beauchamp, T. L., Bowie, N. E., & Arnold, D. G. (Eds.). 2009. Ethical theory and business (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Beitz, C. R. 1989. Covert intervention as a moral problem. Ethics and International Affairs, 3: 45–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beitz, C. R. 2009. The idea of human rights. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blake, M. 2001. Distributive justice, state coercion, and autonomy. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 30(3): 257–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloom, M. 2004. The ethics of compensation systems. Journal of Business Ethics, 52: 149–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boatright, J. R. 2006. What’s wrong—and what’s right—with stakeholder management. Journal of Private Enterprise, 21: 106–30.Google Scholar
Boatright, J. R. 2007. Ethics in finance (2nd ed.). Malden, Mass.: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Boatright, J. R. 2009. Ethics and the conduct of business (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Boatright, J. R. 2010. Executive compensation: Unjust or just right? In Brenkert, G. G. & Beauchamp, T. L. (Eds.), Oxford handbook of business ethics: 161–201. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowie, N. 1999. Business ethics: A Kantian perspective. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Buchanan, A. 1986. Ethics, efficiency and the market. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Buchanan, A. 1996. Toward a theory of the ethics of bureaucratic organizations. Business Ethics Quarterly, 6: 419–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchanan, A. 2009. Justice and health care. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carroll, A. B. 1998. The four faces of corporate citizenship. Business & Society Review, 100/101: 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chryssides, G. D., & Kaler, J. H. 1993. An introduction to business ethics. London: Thompson.Google Scholar
Clark, R. C. 1985. Agency costs versus fiduciary duties. In Pratt, J. W. & Zeckhauser, R. (Eds.), Principals and agents: The structure of business: 55–80. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Cohen, G. A. 2008. Rescuing justice and equality. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Cohen, J. 2009. Philosophy, politics, democracy: Selected essays. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Colquitt, J. A., & Greenberg, J. 2003. Organizational justice: A fair assessment of the state of the literature. In Greenberg, J. (Ed.), Organizational behavior: The state of the science: 165–210. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Crane, A., & Matten, D. 2008. Incorporating the corporation in citizenship: A response to Néron and Norman. Business Ethics Quarterly, 18: 27–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crane, A., Matten, D., & Moon, J. 2008. Corporations and citizenship. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cropanzano, R., & Stein, J. H. 2009. Organizational justice and behavioral ethics: Promises and prospects. Business Ethics Quarterly, 19: 193–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahl, R. A. 1985. A preface to economic democracy. Berkeley: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daniels, N. 2008. Just health: Meeting health needs fairly. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
De George, R. T. 1993. Competing with integrity in international business. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
De George, R. T. 2008. Reflections on ‘Citizenship, Inc.’ Business Ethics Quarterly, 18: 43–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dobson, J. 1997. Finance ethics: The rationality of virtue. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Donaldson, T. 1989. The ethics of international business. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dworkin, R. 2000. Sovereign virtue: The theory and practice of equality. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Easterbrook, F. H., & Fischel, D. R. 1993. Contract and fiduciary duty. Journal of Law and Economics, 36: 425–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Easterbrook, F. H. 1996. The economic structure of corporate law. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Evan, W. M., & Freeman, R. 1988. A stakeholder theory of the modern corporation: Kantian capitalism. In Beauchamp, T. L. & Bowie, N. E. (Eds.), Ethical theory and business (3rd ed.): 101–05. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Folger, R., & Cropanzano, R. 1998. Organizational justice and human resource management. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, E. & Evan, W. M. 1990. Corporate governance: A stakeholder interpretation. Journal of Behavioral Economics, 19: 337–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedman, M. 1962. Capitalism and freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Friedman, M. 1970. The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine (September 13): 32–33, 122–24.Google Scholar
Gaus, G. 2010. The idea and ideal of capitalism. In Brenkert, G. G. & Beauchamp, T. L. (Eds.), Oxford handbook of business ethics: 73–99. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gauthier, D. P. 1986. Morals by agreement. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gerhart, B. A., & Rynes, S. 2003. Compensation: Theory, evidence, and strategic implications. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, D. U., & Behnam, M. 2009. Advancing integrative social contracts theory: A Habermasian perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 89: 215–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, D. U., & Rasche, A. 2007. Discourse ethics and social accountability: The ethics of SA 8000. Business Ethics Quarterly, 17: 187–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodin, R. E. 2003. Reflective democracy. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, R. M., & Donovan, A. 2010. The place of ethical theory in business ethics. In Brenkert, G. G. & Beauchamp, T. L. (Eds.), Oxford handbook of business ethics: 46–69. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Greenberg, J., & Colquitt, J. A. 2005. Handbook of organizational justice. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Greenfield, K. 2006. The failure of corporate law. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Greenfield, K. 2006. Griffin, J. 2008. On human rights. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hansmann, H. 1996. The ownership of enterprise. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Hansmann, H., & Kraakman, R. H. 2000. The end of history for corporate law. Yale Law School Working Paper No. 235; New York University Working Paper No. 013; Harvard Law School Discussion Paper No. 280; Yale SOM Working Paper No. ICF-00-09. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=204528 or doi:10.2139/ssrn.204528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartman, E. M. 1996. Organizational ethics and the good life. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartman, E. M. 2001. Moral philosophy, political philosophy, and organizational ethics: A response to Phillips and Margolis. Business Ethics Quarterly, 11: 673–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hasnas, J. 2007. Up from flatland: Business ethics in the age of divergence. Business Ethics Quarterly, 17: 399–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hasnas, J. 2008. Managing the risks of legal compliance: Conflicting demands of law and ethics. Loyola University Chicago Law Journal, 39: 507–24.Google Scholar
Heath, J. 2006. Business ethics without stakeholders. Business Ethics Quarterly, 16: 533–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heath, J. 2007a. An adversarial ethic for business: Or when Sun-Tzu met the stakeholder. Journal of Business Ethics, 72: 359–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heath, J. 2007b. Rawls on global distributive justice: A defence. Canadian journal of philosophy, 31(supplement): 193–226.Google Scholar
Heath, J., & Norman, W. 2004. Stakeholder theory, corporate governance and public management: What can the history of state-run enterprises teach us in the post-Enron era? Journal of Business Ethics, 53: 247–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsieh, N.-h. 2004. The obligations of transnational corporations: Rawlsian justice and the duty of assistance. Business Ethics Quarterly, 14: 643–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsieh, N.-h. 2005. Rawlsian justice and workplace republicanism. Social Theory & Practice, 31: 115–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Julius, A. J. 2003. Basic structure and the value of equality. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 31: 321–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koehn, D. 1995. A role of virtue ethics in the analysis of business practice. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5: 533–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kraakman, R. H., & Hansmann, H. 2004. What is corporate law? In Kraakman, R., Hansmann, H., Davies, P., Hertig, G., Hopt, K., Kanda, H., & Rock, E. (Eds.), The anatomy of corporate law: A comparative and functional approach: 1–20. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kuper, A. 2005. Global responsibilities: Who must deliver on human rights? New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kymlicka, W. 1995. Multicultural citizenship: A liberal theory of minority rights. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kymlicka, W. 2002. Contemporary political philosophy: An introduction (2nd ed.). NewYork: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kymlicka, W., & Norman, W. J. 1994. Return of the citizen: A survey of recent work on citizenship theory. Ethics, 104: 352–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kymlicka, W. 2000. Citizenship in diverse societies. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liedtka, J. M. 1996. Feminist morality and competitive reality: A role for an ethic of care? Business Ethics Quarterly, 6: 179–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Logsdon, J. M., & Wood, D. J. 2002. Business citizenship: From domestic to global level of analysis. Business Ethics Quarterly, 12: 155–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Machan, T. R., & Chesher, J. 2002. A primer on business ethics. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, A. C. 1984. After virtue: A study in moral theory (2nd ed.). Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Maitland, I. 1989. Rights in the workplace: A Nozickian argument. Journal of Business Ethics, 8: 951–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maitland, I. 1997. The great non-debate over international sweatshops. British Academy of Management Annual Conference Proceedings, 240–65.Google Scholar
Marcoux, A. M. 2003. A fiduciary argument against stakeholder theory. Business Ethics Quarterly, 13: 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matten, D., Crane, A., & Chapple, W. 2003. Behind the mask: Revealing the true face of corporate citizenship. Journal of Business Ethics, 45: 109–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. 2000. Is there a moral right to workplace democracy? Social Theory & Practice, 26: 301–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCall, J. J. 2004. Assessing American executive compensation: A cautionary tale for Europeans. Business Ethics: A European Review, 13(4): 243–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McMahon, C. 1981. Morality and the invisible hand. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 10: 247–77.Google Scholar
McMahon, C. 1994. Authority and democracy: A general theory of government and management. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Menzel, P. T. 2010. Just access to health care and pharmaceuticals. In Brenkert, G. G. & Beauchamp, T. L. (Eds.), Oxford handbook of business ethics: 202–32. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, D. 2007. National responsibility and global justice. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, L. 1995. Progressive corporate law. Boulder, Colo.: Westview.Google Scholar
Moore, G. 2005. Humanizing business: A modern virtue ethics approach. Business Ethics Quarterly, 15: 237–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, G. 2008. Re-imagining the morality of management: A modern virtue ethics approach. Business Ethics Quarterly, 18: 483–511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moriarty, J. 2005. On the relevance of political philosophy to business ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 15: 455–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moriarty, J. 2009. Rawls, self-respect, and the opportunity for meaningful work. Social Theory & Practice, 35: 441–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Narveson, J. 2001. The libertarian idea. Orchard Park, N.Y.: Broadview Press.Google Scholar
Narveson, J. 2008. You and the state: A fairly brief introduction to political philosophy. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Néron, P.-Y., & Norman, W. 2008a. Citizenship, Inc.: Do we really want businesses to be good corporate citizens? Business Ethics Quarterly, 18: 1–26.Google Scholar
Néron, P.-Y. 2008b. Corporations as citizens: Political not metaphorical. Business Ethics Quarterly, 18: 61–66.Google Scholar
Nickel, J. W. 2007. Making sense of human rights (2nd ed.). Malden, Mass.: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Nozick, R. 1974. Anarchy, state, and utopia. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Nussbaum, M. C. 2000. Women and human development: The capabilities approach. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Neill, M. 2008. Three Rawlsian routes towards economic democracy. Revue de Philosophie Economique, 8: 29–55.Google Scholar
O’Neill, O. 2001. Agents of justice. Metaphilosophy, 32(1/2): 180–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, R. A., & Margolis, J. D. 1999. Toward an ethics of organizations. Business Ethics Quarterly, 9: 619–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pogge, T. W. 1989. Realizing Rawls. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Pogge, T. W. 1994. An egalitarian law of peoples. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 23: 195–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pogge, T. W. 2002. World poverty and human rights: Cosmopolitan responsibilities and reforms. Malden, Mass.: Polity.Google Scholar
Rawls, J. 1971. A theory of justice. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rawls, J. 1993. Political liberalism. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Rawls, J. 1999. A theory of justice (rev. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rawls, J. 2001. Justice as fairness: A restatement, ed. Kelly, Erin. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ripstein, A. 2009. Force and freedom: Kant’s legal and political philosophy. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandel, M. J. 1998. Liberalism and the limits of justice (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherer, A. G., & Palazzo, G. 2007. Toward a political conception of corporate responsibility: Business and society seen from a Habermasian perspective. Academy of Management Review, 32: 1096–1120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherer, A. G., Palazzo, G., & Baumann, D. 2006. Gobal rules and private actors: Toward a new role of the transnational corporation in global governance. Business Ethics Quarterly, 16: 505–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, A. 1982. Meaningful work. Ethics, 92: 634–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stansbury, J. 2009. Reasoned moral agreement: Applying discourse ethics within organizations. Business Ethics Quarterly, 19: 33–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stark, A. 1993. What’s the matter with business ethics? Harvard Business Review, 71(3): 38–48.Google ScholarPubMed
Stark, A. 2010. Business in politics: Lobbying and corporate campaign contributions. In Brenkert, G. G. & Beauchamp, T. L. (Eds.), Oxford handbook of business ethics: 501–34. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, E. 2000. Just business: Business ethics in action (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tan, K.-C. 2004. Justice without borders: Cosmopolitanism, nationalism, and patriotism. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, R. S. 2004. Self-realization and the priority of fair equality of opportunity. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 1: 333–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trebilcock, M. J. 1994. The limits of freedom of contract. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google ScholarPubMed
Turbow, J., & Duca, M. 2010. The baseball codes: Beanballs, sign stealing, and bench clearing brawls: The unwritten rules of America’s pastime. New York: Pantheon.Google Scholar
Van Oosterhout, J. H. 2005. Corporate citizenship: An idea whose time has not yet come. Academy of Management Review, 30: 677–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Oosterhout, J. H. 2008. Transcending the confines of economic and political organization? Business Ethics Quarterly, 18: 35–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Parijs, P. 1995. Real freedom for all: What (if anything) can justify capitalism? New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Vogel, D. 2005. The market for virtue: The potential and limits of corporate social responsibility. Washington, D.C.: Brookings.Google Scholar
Walzer, M. 1983. Spheres of justice: A defense of pluralism and equality. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Werhane, P. H., Radin, T. J., & Bowie, N. E. 2004. Employment and employee rights. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, A. 1998. Incentives, inequality, and publicity. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 27: 225–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, I. M. 1990. Justice and the politics of difference. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Zwolinski, M. 2007. Sweatshops, choice, and exploitation. Business Ethics Quarterly, 17: 689–727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar