Ethics for Capitalists: A Systematic Approach to Business Ethics, Competition, and Market Failure

Ethics for Capitalists offers a powerful new statement of the Market Failures Approach to business ethics. While the competitive context of the market economy provides economic actors greater freedom to pursue their interests, it also imposes moral constraints on the range of strategies they may employ. The pursuit of profit must be consistent with the overall objective of market institutions, which is to promote efficiency in the production and allocation of goods and services. Ethics for Capitalists draws out the implications of this view for business strategy, corporate governance, managerial authority, and shareholder primacy. The result is a philosophically rigorous, comprehensive approach to business ethics that will be foundational for all future reflection in the field.