The Ethics of Capitalism

Daniel Halliday is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Melbourne. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Stanford University in 2011.John Thrasher is Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department and in the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy at Chapman University in Orange County, California. He is also an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Monash University. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Arizona in 2013.

• Contents Chapter 1: Introduction: What is this book about?1. Everyone hates capitalism?2. What is capitalism?3. What are the alternatives to capitalism?4. "Ethics of Capitalism": an oxymoron?ConclusionsStudy Questions Chapter 2: Capitalism seemed like a good idea at the time: The rise and fall (and resurrection?) of Political Economy1. 1770-1868: The "Golden Age" of Political Economy2. The "Fragmented Age": Economics and Political Philosophy in the 20th Century3. The Idea of Economic JusticeConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther Reading Chapter 3: Getting out of feudalism--and staying out!1. Feudalism and Capitalism2. Great Escapes: Australian convicts, American radicals, and other heroes3. Signs of a revival of feudalism?4. Inherited wealth and the return of the 'rentier'5. Big business and labor market dominationConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther Reading Chapter 4: Market Order and Market Failure1. Spontaneous orders and why they matter2. Prices and information3. Can markets fail?4. Markets behaving badlya. Price gougingb. Positional goodsc. Public goods5. Market failure or government failure?ConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther Reading Chapter 5: So, why not socialism?1. The century of socialism2. What is socialism?3. Types of socialisma. "Utopian" socialismb. Anarchismc. Marxism4. Market socialism5. Problems with socialism6. Ideals and reality7. Ethical socialismConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther Reading Chapter 6: Low wages and lousy jobs1. The old stories: Malthus, Mill, and competitions among the unskilled2. What makes a lousy job lousy?3. Is alienated labor under-rated?4. Exploitation-not getting out what you put in5. Exploitation-alternatives to Marx6. The new story: runaway incomes at the topConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther Reading Chapter 7: The welfare state and its rivals1. Labor markets and the minimum wage2. The classic welfare state3. Subsidized idleness or empowerment for the masses? The case for Universal Basic Income4. Prevention is better than cure? Property owning democracy5. Meritocracy6. Comparing SystemsConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther Reading Chapter 8: We are the world, or how I learned to stop worrying and love global trade1. Globalization-the new common enemy?2. Homo Mercator3. Why do we trade, anyway?4. The British Empire and the persistence of pseudo-trade5. The old skepticism: mercantilism and why the British Empire was actually bad for the British6. The new skepticism: populism in the 21st century7. Trade injustice in the 21st century8. If trade isn't the enemy, then what (or who) is?a. Protectionism and subsidizing failing industriesb. Mobility of capital and its impact on taxationc. AutomationConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther Reading Chapter 9: Keeping up with the Jones's (and the Kardashians): Positional goods and wars of all against all1. We can't all be better than average2. Zero-sum versus positive-sum3. Capitalism's greatest disappointment?4. Arms races, good and bad5. Peace treaties and finish linesConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther Reading Chapter 10: Why are we still working so hard?1. Keynes and the 15-hour week2. What jobs are machines "stealing", and how?3. More on machine misbehavior4. The (moral) importance of leisure time5. The end of work?ConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther Reading Chapter 11: Do markets wreck the planet?1. Stories of destructiona. Markets aren't the only culpritsb. Resources often get consumed more readily than conservedc. Resources aren't intrinsically limited2. Why is the environment so vulnerable? Collective action problems and the distribution of incentivesa. Preventionb. Alleviation3. If it ain't broke don't sell it? Planned obsolescence4. Who wants to shoot a rhino? Markets and conservationConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther Reading Chapter 12: Boldly going where no market has gone before--should some things not be for sale?1. Kidneys, used underwear, and tossed dwarfs: intuitive discomfort about commodification2. The moral downsides of prohibition3. Are some things "beyond price"?4. Markets as hierarchy-reinforcers5. Maybe it's all just too much? Privacy and the need for (any kind of) market-free zoneConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther reading References

The authors have done a great service to teachers of political philosophy and political economy by writing an accessible introduction to political economy from a philosophical perspective ... The authors say that they intend the book to be a gateway drug,"" to make students hungry for more scholarship in political economy. I cannot wait to teach a course based on the book, because I expect that it will work. The book is written in an accessible and engaging style that makes it particularly suitable for undergraduates. The tone they strike is that of a trusted friend that helps you make up your mind, rather than that of the preacher or ideologue. The Further Reading sections at the end of each chapter capture essential classics and are up to date with some of the best research in the area, providing a good starting point for developing extended essays.