The Ethics of the Market

Meadowcroft makes a distinctive contribution to the literature on the morality of the market by synthesizing the work of a number of liberal scholars into a systematic defense of the free market on ethical grounds. This defense addresses questions of social justice, the moral pre-requisites of a market economy, the nature of the needs that the market satisfies and the appropriate boundaries that should be placed around the operation of the market.

John Meadowcroft is Deputy Editorial Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, London, and Lecturer in Parliament and Politics on the Hansard Scholars Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.

Acknowledgements

ix

Introduction

1

(11)

The doux-commerce thesis and beyond

5

(2)

The market and the good

7

(2)

The structure of the book

9

(3)

Markets and Ethics

12

(21)

The market, self-ownership and `exit'

14

(5)

Prosperity, self-ownership and the market process

19

(5)

Profits, altruism and the market

24

(6)

Conclusion

30

(3)

Prices and Needs

33

(22)

Prices, need and purchasing power

35

(1)

Prices as a `category mistake'

36

(2)

The informational efficiency of prices

38

(4)

Purchasing power, prices and distribution

42

(2)

Prices and values

44

(4)

Prices, information and coordination

48

(4)

Conclusion

52

(3)

Distribution and Justice

55

(33)

Justice, distribution and entitlement

57

(10)

Value, desert and the market process

67

(3)

The difference principle and the benefits of inequality

70

(7)

Inequality, economic mobility and equality of opportunity

77

(3)

Poverty, sufficiency and a guaranteed minimum income

80

(5)

Conclusion

85

(3)

Exploitation and Coercion

88

(21)

The exploitative, coercive marketplace

90

(2)

Marxist theories of power and exploitation

92

(1)

Asymmetries of bargaining power and exploitation

93

(2)

Coercion and choice: `your money or your life'

95

(3)

Choice and constraint in the marketplace

98

(2)

Monopsony or market?

100

(5)

The surplus and the role of the entrepreneur

105

(2)

Conclusion

107

(1)

Note

108

(1)

Culture and Well-being

109

(22)

Choice and the citizen-consumer dichotomy

110

(4)

Consumerism and the `hedonic treadmill'

114

(3)

Choice and well-being in the marketplace

117

(3)

Growth, prosperity and well-being

120

(4)

Culture in the marketplace

124

(4)

Conclusion

128

(1)

Notes

129

(2)

Morality and Commerce

131

(24)

The `self-devouring' market economy

133

(1)

The erosion of traditional values and institutions

134

(4)

Self-interest, subjectivism and the market

138

(2)

The market, firms and friendship

140

(2)

Incentives, probity and self-regulation

142

(5)

The market and civil society

147

(3)

Markets, choice and morals

150

(4)

Conclusion

154

(1)

Conclusion

155

(4)

Bibliography

159

(10)

Index

169

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The Ethics of the Market

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials