At Francisco Marroquín University, I led a series of seminars on the Best Arguments against Free-market Capitalism. The format is Socratic, with lively back-and-forth between me and an impressive group of UFM professors. In first session, we take up the argument that Free-market capitalism is dog-eat-dog. The video’s editor, Luis Barrueto, provides a useful thematic […]
“Capitalism is dog-eat-dog” — UFM seminar Read More »
I am neither Catholic nor Protestant, so I do not have a dog in that fight but rather a cultural history question about the financially bankrupt PIGS or PIIGS countries in Europe. With the exception of Ireland, all are in southern Europe. Including Ireland, all of them are traditionally Catholic [except Greece, which is mostly
PIGS, Catholicism, and Protestantism Read More »
Here is a simplified flowchart, developed for my business ethics courses, reflecting my understanding of subprime mortgages’ contribution to the crisis. Let me emphasize that this is only about the subprime contribution of the overall crisis. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac enabled much spillover into non-subprime mortgage sectors, government-set capital requirements and other regulations enabled
Subprime mortgage crisis — history flowchart Read More »
During my visit to Francisco Marroquín University, I led a one-hour seminar on entrepreneurial ethics. Subtopics: * Three moral types: Carly, Tonya, and Jane. * Six questions in ethics. * Egoism, Altruism, and Predation. * Entrepreneurial ethics: entrepreneurial success and virtue. * Why hasn’t the case for liberty convinced everyone? * Entrepreneurial ethics in contrast
Seminar on entrepreneurial ethics Read More »
I was video-interviewed by Luis Figueroa at Francisco Marroquín University on the topic of business ethics. In the twelve-minute discussion, I respond to the following questions: * What do you think of “corporate social responsibility”? * Why do you believe business ethics should begin with entrepreneurship? * Are there differences between ethics in family and
UFM interview on business ethics Read More »
My review essay on Donald Frey’s America’s Economic Moralists: A History of Rival Ethics and Economics (SUNY Press, 2009) is now out in Business Ethics Quarterly. Subscribers to BEQ can access the issue here. Cite: Hicks, Stephen R. C. 2012. “Review of Donald Frey’s America’s Economic Moralists: A History of Rival Ethics and Economics.” Business
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I like this paragraph from Michael Strong’s The Habit of Thought: “The effort of Socratic Practice is to develop students’ own standard of intellectual judgment by means of placing the onus of responsibility for understanding entirely on them and providing them with the tools and experiences necessary to develop their intellectual judgment. ‘Does it make
Michael Strong on Socratic teaching Read More »
In my interview with Phyllis Johnson after her talk at Rockford College, Ms. Johnson and I discussed her entrepreneurial career as well as the challenges faced by coffee farmers in Africa–most of them low-paid women with little-to-no business education and who, in many cases, are not allowed to own farmland due to cultural, religious, or