David Ignatius Gandolfo, Furman University. Towards an Ethics of the Economy.
Philosophers in Jesuit Education – APA-E 2012, Saturday Dec. 29, 7 to 9 PM, ...
David Ignatius Gandolfo, Furman University Towards an Ethics of the Economy Philosophers in Jesuit Education – APA‐E 2012, Saturday Dec. 29, 7 to 9 PM, Marriott Atlanta Marquis, Room TBA 1) Preliminary matters a) nomos is not logos: i) for the eco‐nomos we are setting the rules (1) as opposed to the eco‐logos wherein we are discovering, honoring, acquiescing to the inner workings of a system that we are a part of but not as authors or creators ii) within the rule‐system that we create (the economy) there will be sub‐logics at work, but we should not conclude from that that the economy is natural iii) what are the rules by which our household, community, society will function? iv) in setting these rules we need to be guided by the purpose of an economy: (1) to facilitate exchange among human beings in a way that respects the kind of thing that human beings are b) human dignity: all human actions have to have as their aim respect for and enhancement of human dignity i) the actions themselves also have to be respectful of and enhancing to human dignity c) human beings are social i) human actions have to be mindful of the community d) we must correctly thematize the relationship between the values governing the structuring of the economy and ethics in general i) we need to make space in the evaluation of the economy for values other than market value. We have to make it valid to consider whether human dignity and the common good are served by particular economic policies. (1) if we’re to consider whether the price of a good returns a just amount, and whether that amount is justly distributed (wages, payments to suppliers, dividends, taxes) we need to move beyond the assumption that the market automatically assures this ii) we have to judge the morality of the structures of an economy iii) overcoming the division of the human being into an economic self and a moral self: the hierarchy of morality over the economy must be reestablished. (1) increased awareness for integrity: (a) not living according to different value systems in different aspects of one’s life (b) insisting that the values that govern the economy, and one’s actions in the economy, cannot be different than the values one claims as one’s system of morality (i) this is an old lesson: e.g., “No one can be the slave of two masters. He will either hate the first and love the second or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot love both God and money” (Mt 6:24) iv) increasing profits, growing market share, increasing shareholder value, etc. – these are not measures of moral worth (1) if moral worth is to be paramount, these other values have to be recognized as merely instrumental, i.e., in the service of a greater value (i.e., the common good) e) the economy is a system i) the judgment of the economy therefore has to account for how everyone is faring – it’s not valid to focus on partial populations within the whole, we need to look at the whole f) Method: see, judge, act i) especially, see the presence and extent of poverty; acknowledge that poverty is an economic phenomenon and that its existence is a criticism of the system
2) Principles a) universality: good for all; sustainable (socially, environmentally, economically) b) the structure of the economy must recognize and enhance the dignity of work i) labor not a mere factor of production ii) work as self‐expression, as development, as contribution c) the structure of the economy must recognize the value and necessity of leisure i) this is when we can make other important contributions: citizenship, prayer, volunteering ii) leisure is not to be targeted as a time primarily for consumption d) a recognition of the legitimacy of regulation – regulation is the acknowledgment that the thing regulated is not an end in itself but serves a higher purpose e) a recognition that not everything should be available for commodification – how to determine the limits of commodification? f) the goal of the economy is to meet genuine human need i) Note: the role of advertising is called into question here (created need, manipulated need) ii) Note also: if the focus is going to be on meeting human need, the status of corporations as persons is implicated (1) the economy serves people as a primary goal, corporations only in a secondary, derivative mode, to the extent that their interests promote the primary goal (a) elevating corporations to the status of people makes this proper ranking impossible g) protecting and enhancing the capacity of the market to function as a tool of efficient distribution: i) holistic pricing: bringing into the price of a good ALL of the costs associated with it (production, distribution, environmental, disposal) ii) equal access to information, no monopolies, etc. h) breaking down the distinction between manager and worker i) building the capacity that expands, invigorates subsidiarity: building capacity among all people i) the ultimate purpose of business cannot be to maximize profit – that is in the service of the real final goal: the common good i) if maximization of profit, shareholder value, etc., is not the paramount value, then business is not ultimately answerable to its shareholders but also to the rest of society (1) society acknowledges this rank order through regulation: this is the acknowledgement that business is answerable to the common good, that the common good has a claim on business 3) Concluding thought: we have lost an awareness of limits: a) in the paradigm of development and underdevelopment, we have no appreciation for overdevelopment b) we are well aware of how poverty, a lack of material goods, can stunt human development; much less aware of how an overabundance of material goods can warp flourishing: the aridity of too much stuff, too many choices (1) such an abundance of choice leads to the illusion that one’s real self‐actualization is being expressed in these choices (a) but most of this plethora of choices are inconsequential: latte or cappuccino? (2) there are really very few genuine choices: (a) will you serve others or self? (b) shall the economy be structured such that its ultimate goal is the good of all, or the good of you and yours?
