This overview of articles, columns and blog posts resulting from the Good Markets research project is a selection from all blog posts on the Moral Markets platform.
Adam Smith in Theological Perspective
“A new turn to religion in Smith studies helps provide a bertter understanding of the great Scottish philosopher and political economist than has traditionally been on offer. […] Rather than providing a close textual reading and explication of a particular passage or a comprehensive survey of religious and theological themes in Smith’s work, this essay sets the stage for a broad theological understanding of Smith.”
Why the Economy Needs a Theology of the Body
“The promises of virtualization and automation are often exaggerated, as are their dangers. It is possible for an increasingly virtualized and automated economy to actually be more humane, but only if such an economy does justice to the human realities of incarnation and relation”, so Moral Markets researcher Jordan Ballor argues.
‘Two Hundred Years Back, One Hundred Years Ahead: From One Revolution to Another’
Two hundred years ago, a seemingly megalomaniac and even hopeless project was started in the West: overcoming poverty by creating more prosperity. This project was called “Progress”. Two hundred years later we can only conclude that this project was more successful than we could have anticipated. However, this project also has some serious shadow sides. As humanity we have to start a new, at first sight almost equally megalomaniac project for the next hundred years: making our prosperity sustainable.
More Equal Distribution of Wealth Makes People Happier
Since the liberalization of the Western economies in the 1980s and 1990s, income inequality has increased dramatically. In the public debate, the question arises how this inequality impacts societies and what role it plays in the functioning of the economy. Bjorn Lous has studied this issue, based on the question: How do the various aspects of economic freedom relate to (inequality of) life satisfaction and trust through their relationship with income inequality?
On the Economic Trinity (Plus an Agenda of Renewal for the Finance Sector)
According to Govert Buijs “we have come to misunderstand transactions as simple, one-dimensional operations. In this way we have forgotten what it takes for a market to work well.” Chapter 6 of the book Finance and the Common Good (2019, Amsterdam University Press).
Competition Is Incentive for Sustainable Entrepreneurship
The motives that companies have for sustainable business vary. Two types of motives are often distinguished: extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. In case of so-called extrinsic motivation, a company acts sustainable because it contributes to other company...
Ethical Questions Concerning Trade with China
This week it became public that at the Dutch company ASML trade secrets were stolen by former employees of Chinese descent. Many people were schocked, because ASML is the flagship of the Dutch knowledge economy. That this is such a sensitive issue is also because recently growing concerns have arisen about how China is developing into a world power.
Does the Free Market Encourage Lying and Cheating?
You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. And wherever there’s business, you’ll find morally reprehensible behaviour. Economist and PhD candidate Annemiek Schilpzand, from Nijmegen School of Management, is trying to unravel the relationship between the market and morality.
Economic Freedom and Corporate Environmental Responsibility
Just published: Johan Graafland (2019). “Economic freedom and corporate environmental responsibility: The role of small government and freedom from government regulation.” In: Journal of Cleaner Production, volume 218, 1 May 2019, Pages 250-258.
Does the Free Market Lead the Way to the Good Life?
Modernity, especially the free market, has liberated Western man. But does it also offer a good answer to the question of the good life? Not necessarily, because the free market may also be dehumanizing.
Can Corporations be ‘Good Citizens’?
“The idea of ‘good corporate citizenship’ has become popular recently among business ethicists and corporate leaders. You may have noticed its appearance on corporate websites and CEO speeches. But what does it mean and does it matter? Is it any more than a new species of public relations flimflam to set beside terms like ‘corporate social responsibility’ and the ‘triple bottom line’? Is it just a metaphor?”
Identity Politics Veers into Identity Economics
“So-called identity politics can be both an authentic form of personal expression as well as a force for division and enmity. As identity politics increasingly manifests in our economic life, we encounter the danger of identity economics, where we only agree to economic transactions with those who agree with us on an ever-growing list of moral or even political shibboleths.”
Social Ecology and the Market Economy: Revisiting the Threefold Foundations of a Flourishing Society
A full vision of the social structures of human flourishing must include three elements: the economic, political, and moral-cultural, so Jordan Ballor – researcher in the project ‘What Good Markets are Good for’ – argues in this essay.
Adam Smith on Morality and Markets
“The idea of a society in which everyone acts out of pure benevolence is a fantastic ideal. It’s just not feasible.”
The Psychological Mechanisms behind the Workings of the Invisible Hand
What economist and business ethicist Johan Graafland likes about The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) by philosopher and economist Adam Smith, is that it displays an enormous understanding of human nature and that he makes you reconsider your point of view times and again. A book interview.