Why Business?

Abstract

Chapter 9 brings the threads of the previous chapters together to develop an integrated picture of honorable business. It first argues that there is such a thing as honorable business, and it articulates its core elements, linking them to the conception of moral agency, hierarchy of moral value, and code of business ethics developed in earlier chapters. It also describes what dishonorable business is. It articulates the “negative” duties of business—the “don’ts—as well as its positive obligations—the “dos”—and argues that the “don’ts” require our attention first, but that the “dos” nevertheless can generate obligations as well. Chapter 9 suggests that honorable business not only provides material prosperity but also enables and encourages proper moral relations among people based on the mutual respect that our inherent dignity requires. Seen in the proper light, this conception of honorable business could actually be a moral calling.