Ethics and economics: the moral foundations of the market economy
Ethics and economics: the moral foundations of the market economy

Summary/Abstract: The goal of this paper is to examine the application of ethics to the market economy as it is presented in the framework of the contemporary liberal political philosophy. The methodological tools employed here are taken from the theory of public choice, which combines theoretical investigations with empirical examples and aims to formulate normative propositions. The analysis of relationships between ethics and economic development include the ethical justification of the basic notions of the market economy, i.e. competition and private property, as well as the evaluation of the role of ethical rules as complementary to the coercive state. In conclusion, it is argued that public choice theory allows not only for the assessment of the present stage of the market economy but also offers an important diagnosis of the recent economic crisis.

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