Economics and Ethics: Considerable Debate and Interpretations
The area of ethics in economics is a divisive one, over which there has been considerable debate. Ethics has many interpretations in the history of philosophy as well as in economic history. Very simply, ethics refers to an understanding of certain forms of behavior as either right or wrong. "The field of ethics, also called moral philosophy, involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior." (Ethics) However, there are many complex aspects to the understanding of ethics. An early idea of ethics was put forward by the philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in the 19th Century. They suggested that ethical action was concerned with providing "... the greatest balance of good over evil." (Ethics) On the one hand, economics is fundamentally driven in a systems and practical sense by the need to acquire profit and accumulate wealth. On the other hand there is a growing debate about ethical responsibility and integrity in the business and economic world, with respect to aspects and issues that strictly fall outsider the ambit of the pure science of economics per se. Recent controversies, such as the Enron scandal have also highlighted the issue of ethics in economics and busines
Sen reminds us of the contrast between the "non-ethical" feature of modern economics and its genesis as an offshoot of ethics. At the time of its inception, then, the language of economics was comprised of normative elements. Nevertheless, over time, economics came to be considered an autonomous science, and its language and value judgments become increasingly more "positive." (Business ethics and corporate social responsibility. 2005) s. This leads to a vast array of issues and questions; such as the protection of future resources and the growing debate about the reality of environmental ethics as it relates to purely economic concerns. Questions are asked such as; can there ethically be a case for unconstrained economic adventurism and profiteering without paying attention to the moral and ethical dimensions of these actions? On the other side of the argument there are many who interpret the alleged benefits of economics rather as the promotion of profit over ethical norms and principles. However in recent years there has at least ostensibly a reassessment of the ethical parameters of economics from within the economic community. The Energy Information Agency of the Department of Energy estimates that Alaska oil production averaged 902,000 barrels of oil per day from January through August 2004, about 16 percent of total U.S. oil production during that period, most of which comes from Prudhoe Bay. Opening up even a limited area of ANWR for drilling would offer the prospect of producing from Alaska possibly 40 percent or more of the oil consumed in America. To generalize, people who care most about the wildlife and wilderness don't give a hoot about the oil; folks fixated on the oil think its value outweighs the wildlife and wildland concerns. The two sides are every bit as polarized and only a little less passionate than those battling over abortion rights"
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Approximate Word count = 1882
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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