Ethics of Capitalism?

Like his friend David Hume, Adam Smith, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University, was a key member of the Scottish Enlightenment. A believer in free market economy, he is known as the father of modern capitalism. Political economy is one that protects its citizens, creates conditions for well-being, including economic growth, and provides public services in the context of personal liberty protections of rights, and enforcement of laws of justice. Adam Smith provided a blueprint for a model of social organization based on the system of perfect liberty. Private property and voluntary exchange are the main features of the capitalist economy. Smith offered an important insight into the role of the division of labor, competition, capital accumulation, and private property in creating a functioning and prosperous commercial society. This chapter analyzes the ethical dimension of capitalism, and how it was developed through the writing of Weber, Friedman, and Amartya Sen.

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