Morality, Ethics, Capitalism, and Profits
Norman E. Bowie. Business Ethics: A Kantian Perspective. An interesting look at how philosopher Immanuel Kant’s teachings can be applied to the ethical issues facing business leaders today. Although Baker does not agree with all of the conclusions of the author, he says it is a thought-provoking book.
Peter F. Drucker. “What is Business Ethics,” The Public Interest, Spring 1981. In this article, Drucker challenges the whole notion of business ethics, arguing that if it continues to be discussed as separate from everyday right and wrong behavior, it will degenerate into casuistry. Claiming that it should not matter if a person acts as an employee of a manufacturer, hospital, or government agency, ethical behavior should be judged on standards of right and wrong, which is not specific, nor exclusive, to business enterprises.
**TOP CHOICE Milton Friedman. “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits.” The New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970. In this most cited article on the issue of corporate social responsibility, Friedman argues that corporations should focus on what they do best—maximizing profits by offering valuable products and services to its customers, while staying well within the bounds of the law. Corporate managers—who are not owners—should not spend other people’s money on charitable programs. Not only are they not competent to judge the effectiveness of these programs, they are taking money out of the owner’s pockets. Far better to maximize profits, distribute them, and let individual shareholders make their own charitable decisions. As usual, Friedman offers a very compelling argument, even though Baker wishes he would claim profits are the result of offering value to customers, not the main purpose of a business.
George Gilder. “The Soul of Silicon.” Speech delivered to the Vatican (May 1997), published September 9, 1997. This is Gilder at his best. This is one of the best defenses of capitalism, free markets, profits, and the morality of enterprise ever written. See the George Gilder Archives at the Discovery Institute web site at http://www.discovery.org.
Richard John Neuhaus. Doing Well and Doing Good: The Challenge to the Christian Capitalist. An excellent book, exploring the moral foundations of work, enterprise, and profits, as well as the late Pope John Paul’s encyclical of May 1, 1991, Centesimus Annus (“The Hundredth Year”) Neuhaus is a theologian and editor of the religious magazine First Things.
Michael Novak. The Catholic Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism; and Business as a Calling: Work and the Examined Life. Two exceptional books from one of the most thoughtful and cogent writers of our times, also a theologian. Novak makes a profound argument for why business is a serious moral enterprise. Required reading for anyone interested in morality, ethics, and enterprise. For more information on Novak, visit www.michaelnovak.net.