Ethics and economics : an introduction to free markets, equality and happiness / Johan Graafland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Graafland, J. J., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economics--Moral and ethical aspects.

Economics.

Utilitarianism--Moral and ethical aspects.

Utilitarianism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (271 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon : Routledge, 2022.

Summary:

This textbook applies economic ethics to evaluate the free market system and enables students to examine the impact of free markets using the three main ethical approaches: utilitarianism, principle-based ethics and virtue ethics. Ethics and Economics systematically links empirical research to these ethical questions, with a focus on the core topics of happiness, inequality and virtues. Each chapter offers a recommended further reading list. The final chapter provides a practical method for applying the different ethical approaches to morally evaluate an economic policy proposal and an example of the methodology being applied to a real-life policy. This book will give students a clear theoretical and methodological toolkit for analyzing the ethics of market policies, making it a valuable resource for courses on economic ethics and economic philosophy.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Endorsements

Title

Copyright

Contents

List of figures

List of tables

List of boxes

Author biography

Preface

1 Introduction

1.1 Economic ethics

1.2 Defense and critique of free markets

1.3 Purpose and plan of the book

Part I Free markets, welfare and happiness

2 Utilitarianism

2.1 Characteristics of utilitarianism

2.2 Cost-benefit analysis

2.3 Problems with utilitarianism

2.4 Adaptations of utilitarianism

2.5 Conclusion

3 Three economic perspectives on the 'good' market system

3.1 The free market perspective of neoliberalism

3.2 The perfect market perspective of the neoclassical school

3.3 The welfare state perspective of the Keynesian school

3.4 Overview

4 Free markets, welfare and happiness: empirical research

4.1 Free markets and income

4.2 Does more income make us happier?

4.3 Free markets and happiness

4.4 Free markets and quality of life

4.5 Testing the three perspectives on the 'good' market system

Part II Free markets, rights and inequality

5 The ethics of duties and rights

5.1 Consequentialist versus deontological ethical theories

5.2 Ethics of duty of Kant

5.3 Negative rights ethics: libertarianism

5.4 Positive rights ethics

6 The ethics of justice

6.1 The concept of justice

6.2 The theory of justice of Rawls

6.3 The entitlement theory of Nozick

6.4 Meritocracy

6.5 Distributive justice: an overview of criteria

7 Free markets, rights and inequality: empirical research

7.1 Free markets, negative rights and capitalist justice

7.2 Free markets and positive rights

7.3 Free markets and income inequality within countries

7.4 Free markets and income inequality between countries

7.5 Income inequality, trust and happiness

Part III Free markets, virtues and happiness.

8 Virtue ethics and care ethics

8.1 Characteristics of virtues

8.2 The virtue ethics of Aristotle

8.3 The virtue ethics of Adam Smith

8.4 Modern virtue ethics: MacIntyre, Bruni and Sugden, McCloskey

8.5 Care ethics

9 Adam Smith on markets, virtues and happiness

9.1 The doux commerce and self-destruction thesis

9.2 Smith on the effects of markets on virtues

9.3 Virtues and happiness: on the worldview of Adam Smith

9.4 Overview

10 Markets, virtues and happiness: empirical research

10.1 Markets and virtues: doux commerce or self-destruction?

10.2 The importance of virtues: results from game theory and experimental economics

10.3 Virtues and happiness

10.4 Virtues as moderators between free markets and well-being

Part IV Consolidation and integration

11 Liberalism and communitarianism

11.1 Liberalism: utilitarianism, rights and justice ethics

11.2 Communitarianism: virtue ethics and care ethics

11.3 I &amp

we paradigm

12 The morality of free markets: integration and application

12.1 Overview of analysis of free markets from different ethical standards

12.2 Moral evaluation of 'noxious' markets

12.3 Applying economic ethics to market institutions: a practical approach

12.4 Case study

References

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-00-318183-X

1-003-18183-X

1-000-41661-5

9781003181835