Are markets moral?

Abstract

What happens to the morality of a society in which money rules the roost? In this book, over a dozen philosophers and economists come together to examine the consequences of living in a society in which exchanges between people increasingly take the form of buying and selling goods and services for money. Based on conference papers and discussions, this volume asks, in which ways does money change us?Capitalism's encouragement of greed is often considered to be its main moral failing, while also being the source of its economic energy. But this book is not solely, or even mainly, about the 'greed' of capitalism. A major theme is the contamination of moral values, including those of security and equality, by money values. Instead of the market being embedded in society, society has come to be embedded in the market. Are Markets Moral? provides an insightful debate on the morality of a capitalist market, and is essential reading for scholars and researchers of economics and ethics, and it will also appeal to policy-makers, practitioners and the interested lay reader.