The Moral Basis of Global Capitalism: Beyond the Eclectic Theory

Dunning's recent discussions of the morality of global capitalism, as developed from his eclectic theory, are critically reviewed. It is argued that, in highlighting the benefits of globalisation, Dunning has underestimated the extent to which globalisation amplifies the costs of capitalism. The nature of capitalism varies according to the social and religious framework within which economic activity is embedded. An effective framework creates a high-trust form of capitalism based on self-regulation and self-control. This framework aligns private and social interests in cases where the forces of law and competition are weak. Late twentieth-century Western culture is secular and atomistic: it has fostered a low-trust form of capitalism, based on a selfish, individualistic and competitive concept of the entrepreneur. Low-trust capitalism provides entrepreneurs with unrivalled opportunities to manipulate consumer tastes, and frees them from any inhibitions about exercising this power. The globalisation of consumer product markets has reinforced this tendency, by strengthening the incentive to refine manipulative marketing techniques. The increasing reliance on mass media - especially television - for advertising distinguishes modern global capitalism from the international capitalism of the late nineteenth century. Because of these changes, people's wants are satisfied with unprecedented abundance, but their social needs are met much less adequately than before.