3 Nov 2008 | 5:00pm - 7:00pm | CRASSH, 17 Mill Lane |
- Description
Description
Dr. Ben Colburn (Lecturer, Philosophy)
Consider autonomy-minded liberalism, the position that the state ought to promote individual autonomy, aiming at equal access to autonomy for all. Such a position in politics might seem to fit very happily with an endorsement of a free market in economics. I think that the autonomy-minded liberal should be wary of this common link. Drawing on a framework for thinking about markets suggested by Ronald Dworkin, I argue that the moral acceptability of a market in a given domain depends on what it is fair to hold people responsible for. I then show that many apparently innucous mechanisms for setting the value of goods look much more questionable once we realise what judgments about responsibility they covertly commit us to.
Respondent: Dr Serena Olsaretti (University Senior Lecturer, Philosophy)
Followed by drinks at “The Anchor”
Theme for 2008/09 “The Moral Economy?”
Part of Business and Society Research Group
The Group aims to provide an interdisciplinary forum for researchers investigating the cultures of capitalism and the social and ethical dimensions of organizations, business, and economics.