Ethical Boundaries of Capitalism

by Daianu, Daniel; Vranceanu, Radu

• ISBN13: 9780754643951
• ISBN10: 0754643956
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-06-01
• Publisher: Ashgate Pub Co

Summary

The spate of corporate scandals across the Atlantic and similar cases in the EU in the early twenty first century illustrate the complex reality of capitalist societies, casting new doubts on the ability of these societies to impose natural limits on greed, selfishness and aggressive rivalry between economic actors. Social scientists now question whether capitalism can provide a solid basis for the development of ethical behaviour and whether unethical behaviour is an inherent feature of capitalist systems.This book addresses these issues within a thesis-antithesis approach, with analysis of the ethical virtues of capitalist structures, and a study of ethical issues within various applied contexts, including corporate governance and regulation.This book will be of interest to students of business, economics, and philosophy. It will also appeal to practitioners who want to broaden their understanding of modern societies and improve the quality of their decision-making by incorporating the essential ethical dimension.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	vii
Foreword	ix
PART ONE: ETHICS FROM WITHOUT
1 The Ethics of Capitalism	3	(22)
Laurent Bibard
2 Capitalism as an Ethical System: The Ideal and its Feasibility	25	(18)
Michael Keren
3 How Capitalism Lost its Soul: From Protestant Ethics to Robber Barons	43	(22)
Marie-Laure Djelic
4 Ethical Lapses of Capitalism: How Serious Are They?	65	(20)
Daniel Daianu
5 Moral Divide in International Business: A Descriptive Framework	85	(20)
Nicoletta Ferro
PART TWO: ETHICS FROM WITHIN
6 Capitalism: Foundations of Ethical Behavior	105	(22)
Mircea Boari
7 The Ethical Environment of the Free Market	127	(18)
Sorin Cucerai
8 The Spirit of Free Enterprise: Ethics and Responsibility	145	(12)
Arnaud Pellissier-Tanon
9 On Ethical, Social and Environmental Management Systems	157
Antonio Argandoña
PART THREE: ETHICAL ISSUES IN PRACTICE
10 Is Ethical Marketinga Myth?	175	(24)
René Y. Darmon
11 Firms and the Environment: Ethics or Incentives?	199	(20)
André Fourçans
12 Deregulating Dishonesty: Lessons from the US Corporate Scandals	219	(20)
Radu Vranceanu
13 An Exchange of Values: The NYSE's Governance Crisis	239	(16)
Andrei Postelnicu
14 A Concluding Comment	255	(2)
Daniel Daianu and Radu Vranceanu
Index	257