In general, capitalist countries display sustained growth, dynamism and innovation, and a high adaptability in response to external shocks. Yet in the last twenty years discontent over the notorious drawbacks of capitalism – corporate frauds, corruption, abuses of market power – has grown continually. In this paper, we argue that no remedy to these difficulties can be found if ethical dilemmas are not anticipated and addressed at the individual, firm and economy-wide level. While pro-ethical changes in business regulation would help, government action alone may not be effective enough. Given that the social sciences provide the general framework of reference for human action, better integration of the ethical dimension by these disciplines would bring about additional benefits. In particular, economic theory would gain from developing more in-depth reflection on human end-goals and values.
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Paper provided by ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School in its series ESSEC Working Papers with number
DR 05001.
Find related papers by JEL classification: A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Social Responsibility P17 - Economic Systems - - Capitalist Systems - - - Performance and Prospects
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