An Essay on a Wise Man’s Teaching
An Essay on a Wise Man’s Teaching

Author(s): Matthew Modisette
Subject(s): Business Economy / Management, Political Philosophy, Business Ethics
Published by: Addleton Academic Publishers
Keywords: markets and morality; rational choice theory; Adam Smith; Bernard Gert;
Summary/Abstract: A wise man once taught me something, a kernel of truth that has cemented itself in my thought since the very day it was said to me. To my instructor, this did not, from my perspective at least, appear to be of any profound importance, merely another fact on the topic at hand. But to me, it was almost revolutionary in my understanding. This lesson had to deal with the nature of markets, specifically that they, by their nature, are not bound by moral rules. Prior to this, my understanding of markets had been somewhat vague, a general idea regarding some arrangement or mechanism whereby buyers and sellers, motivated by self-interest, come together to voluntarily exchange goods and services. From this conception alone, there appears no sign of some moral rule to follow or duty to meet. And yet, upon hearing that morality has no place with markets, I was immediately struck in an almost off-putting way. Such a characterization reminded me of some kind of Machiavellian realism, one characterized by cynicism, deception, and coercion, where in all cases, the ends justify the means. In spite of this, an important concept had eluded my understanding: how could morality actually be an inherent and governing aspect of the market? To dive into this, the nature of morality had to be considered.

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