The Myth of Social Justice and the Erosion of the Virtues of Commerce

Authors

  • Martin Calkins University of Massachusetts Boston

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33423/jlae.v17i5.3215

Keywords:

Leadership, Accountability, Ethics, social justice, justice, virtue ethics, business ethics, Friedrich von Hayek, socialism, libertarianism, free markets, bourgeois virtues

Abstract

Economist Friedrich von Hayek’s 1976 critique of social justice as a dishonest term used to undermine individual freedoms is extended to argue that social justice also erodes basic human sentiments and the moral virtues that guide free market behavior. Moreover as demands for social justice replace individual choice, they also undermine the sentiment of fellow-feeling that grounds morality as well as the particular moral virtues of self-command, toughness, honesty, prudence, assiduity, industry, frugality, and parsimony that Adam Smith and others have shown to be necessary for advancing business ethics within free market systems.

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Published

2020-11-17

How to Cite

Calkins, M. (2020). The Myth of Social Justice and the Erosion of the Virtues of Commerce. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 17(5). https://doi.org/10.33423/jlae.v17i5.3215

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Section

Articles