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Why be Moral in Business? A Rawlsian Approach to Moral Motivation

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  • Toenjes, Richard H.

Abstract

This article puts forth the thesis that the contractualist account of moral justification affords a powerful reply in business contexts to the question why a business person should put ethics above immediate business interests. A brief survey of traditional theories of business ethics and their approaches to moral motivation is presented. These approaches are criticized. A contractualist conception of ethics in the business world is developed, based on the work of John Rawls and Thomas Scanlon. The desire to justify our choices in terms that others can be reasonably expected to accept, or at least in terms that others cannot reasonably reject, is identified and differentiated from other accounts of motivation. It is this desire that constitutes the core motive to be moral in business on the contractualist conception. Implications of this contractualist conception for the theory and practice of business ethics are then discussed.

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  • Toenjes, Richard H., 2002. "Why be Moral in Business? A Rawlsian Approach to Moral Motivation," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 57-72, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:12:y:2002:i:01:p:57-72_00
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    Cited by:

    1. John Corvino, 2006. "Reframing “Morality Paysâ€\x9D: Toward a Better Answer to “Why be Moral?â€\x9D in Business," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(1), pages 1-14, August.
    2. Scott L. Newbert & Michael D. Stouder, 2011. "Justice in entrepreneurial organizations," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 38(5), pages 453-465, April.
    3. Carol A. Adams & Glen Whelan, 2009. "Conceptualising future change in corporate sustainability reporting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(1), pages 118-143, January.

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