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I thought capitalism was all about rational self-interest. If there’s no government interference, what incentive is there to behave ethically? As far as I can t
by earthtolazlo 7y ago
I thought capitalism was all about rational self-interest. If there’s no government interference, what incentive is there to behave ethically? As far as I can tell the answer is “none” and that’s what we see playing out over and over again.
- jfengel 7y agoEthics are what you do when there isn't an incentive. If you're forced to do it, it's not ethics. One theory of ethics holds that it is in your long-term interest to behave ethically, even if you can't know for certain what the constraints are. They encode a heuristic wisdom for survival, and that's why we have ethics at all. But many will fail to follow that, and if they are punished in the end, it's only after many others suffer -- and are not made whole by your punishment.