The Three Economic Enlightenments: Old–New Lessons for Business Ethics

By: Paolo Santori

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Synopsis: When people wonder about the appropriate course of action in a given situation, they are already engaging in moral reasoning. This also applies to the field of business, where an understanding of ethics could help businesspeople and market participants make morally informed decisions. This book aims to enlarge the body of ethical theories available in Business Ethics by illustrating three moral principles relevant to economic agents based on the ideas of Immanuel Kant, Antonio Genovesi, and Adam Smith. All three authors were prominent figures in the eighteenth-century European Enlightenment movement and have much to teach us about the origins of modern economics. Additionally, the book provides specific examples relating to contemporary business situations, focusing on the ethical challenges posed by incomplete contracts. Overall, this book demonstrates that the historical evolution of economic and philosophical concepts remains pertinent to current dialogues in Business Ethics.