Two pillars of Western culture are the free market doctrine and democracy. The ability of these pillars to generate behavior that converges to a global ethical system is investigated. The market mechanism is no longer as described by Adam Smith, it is oligopolistic. Strategic architecture is outside the resources of many firms, a value free morality prevails, and government intervenes in the market. People believe that they are better off than in the past. However, the gap between the “haves” and “have‐nots” is widening. Market doctrine does not conform to ethical principles. Market freedom requires choice; it benefits corporations giving rise to three diverging classes in society. This type of imperialism potentially contains the seeds of its own destruction.
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1 March 2002
Conceptual Paper|
March 01 2002
Convergence of ethics? Available to Purchase
Ewa Maria Richter;
Ewa Maria Richter
University of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Ernest Alan Buttery
Ernest Alan Buttery
University of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Online ISSN: 1758-6070
Print ISSN: 0025-1747
© MCB UP Limited
2002
Management Decision (2002) 40 (2): 142–151.
Citation
Richter EM, Buttery EA (2002), "Convergence of ethics?". Management Decision, Vol. 40 No. 2 pp. 142–151, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740210422811
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