Modern Values*: Content and Contributors

Zusammenfassung

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There are interdependencies between the market economy and more general values in modern European societies. In this article, the contribution of both theory and more practical morals of the market are discussed. Another source of influence on values is the unselfishness demanded by religion and honored by most philosophers. Whether this demand is positive is also discussed. There is a danger of trivialization of ethics into a public-relations discourse, which reduces its function as an aid in dilemmas and as a serious constraint on behavior. An agent-neutral universalism is often suggested, but for companies with ambitions of setting norms, a more particularistic ethics is of interest. An appropriate theory to this is largely missing and many important issues are treated as juridical rather than ethical matters.

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Auszug

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Modern Values*: Content and Contributors

1. Introduction

There is widespread criticism of capitalism and modern society by conservatives, socialists and postmodernists. The intensity of the critique varies, but there is a common opinion that the market economy has negative effects on morality and value formation: materialism among consumers, alienation among employees, and greed among shareholders. But do we really face a value problem in modern Europe? If so, what is the cause, and what would be the remedy?

This article discusses present European values on two levels. The following section examines values from the standpoint of moral influence exerted by three major spheres of society. What is brought across to the modem European individual from the market, civil society, and the state, respectively?

The third section focuses on the ethics behind the morals of the three spheres. The distinction applied here, is that morals are seen as prescriptive ethics, while the term ethics is used for the theoretical framework and the justification for advocating special moral theses. Of special interest is the influence of the academic field of business and economic ethics. Can ethical theories be helpful in improving the practical morals in a society? Section four penetrates the environment for moral discourse and its effect on ethical messages. The article concludes with a diagnosis of moral health and a judgment of the contributions of business ethics.

2. Three spheres of society influencing the individual

The content in this section can be illustrated by a diagram.

Already Aristotle argued for the interconnection between behavior and virtue. We manifest our moral beliefs in behavior and there is also an influence in the opposite direction. Our behav...

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