Philosophy of Economics and Business Ethics

This chapter looks at some of the rational principles of economic philosophy covering consideration of the “other”, which we call the “alteritas” principle; cooperation and facilitation (as service); money as “encapsulated” freedom of choice; business as a non-privative activity; and the uncertainty and indeterminacy of economic activity, all of which can be used in the design of practical codes of business ethics and codes of conduct. In asking the question, “Will things really change?” in business behaviour following the last financial crisis, it looks at two examples of what Dutch and German banks are doing to implement cultural change in the way they operate. The creation of economic value as a philosophical principle of economics is examined, and how this relates to what we call the ethical “excellence” or “virtue” of a businessman as Economic Man, as a measure of his performance in achieving the economic, social and environmental objectives of business management. Finally in looking at the traditional theories of economic philosophy, such as rational decision theory, the chapter makes a plea to avoid the danger of “econospeak” in the language of economic theory when communicating with the business world, and to involve the businessman more in economic theorizing, and in setting the assumptions for econometric modelling.