Business Ethics

“Bootleggers, Baptists, and The Jones Act” article published

My short article “Bootleggers, Baptists, and The Jones Act” was published as part of the Political Ethics series at the Berens Foundation’s site. “Suppose that a freak Atlantic storm pummels the city of Boston, leaving it flooded for days and cut off from services by land and air — trucks cannot reach it and planes

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Lucro: bueno, malo y obsceno [Spanish translation]

[This is a Spanish translation of “Profits: Good, Bad, and Obscene,” originally published in English at EveryJoe.] A nadie le gusta perder dinero, pero el lucro genera actitudes polarizadas. Como ocurre con la mayoría de los fenómenos con carga moral—la competencia, la riqueza, la pobreza, la propiedad—lograr superar las discusiones confusas, requiere algunas distinciones sutiles. Acerquémonos

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Exult or gnash teeth at whistle-blower Chelsea Manning’s release?

Chelsea Manning is out of prison — but here are the whistle-blowing questions for both those exulting and those gnashing their teeth. “Whistleblowing and Government Secrets, Chelsea Manning edition.” “In his final days in office, President Obama commuted the prison sentence of Chelsea Manning. While in the employ of the US Army, Manning had downloaded

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Loving Money and Books – Which Is More Evil? [Good Life series]

I worked in construction for some years before returning to graduate school. My crew members were all hardworking guys, and an ethos of manly ruggedness prevailed among them. Beer was drunk. Pickup trucks were driven. Camping and fishing were practiced faithfully. I am, of course, no slouch in the manliness department. Let’s be clear about

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“Whistle-blowing and Government Secrets, Chelsea Manning edition” published

My short article “Whistleblowing and Government Secrets, Chelsea Manning edition” was published as part of the Political Ethics series at the Berens Foundation’s site. “In his final days in office, President Obama commuted the prison sentence of Chelsea Manning. While in the employ of the US Army, Manning had downloaded tens of thousands of government

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Bartley Madden’s *Value Creation Thinking*

I’m enjoying Bartley Madden’s Value Creation Thinking. Madden has much real-world experience in business from his years as a managing director at Credit Suisee HOLT. He’s also read deeply into the ethics and economics literature. We all know the complaints about the business world — corporations enjoy low public trust, “capitalism” is a dirty word

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Profits—Good, Bad, and Obscene [Good Life series]

Nobody likes to lose money, but profit generates polarized attitudes. As with most morally-charged phenomena—competition, wealth, poverty, property—getting past the often confused discussions requires some subtle distinctions. Let’s approach profit by way of an example of its opposite—an accidental destruction of property. Suppose that I’m careless and drive my car onto your yard, tearing up

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