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Giving Capitalists Their Due

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  • KERSHNAR, STEPHEN

Abstract

In general, capitalists deserve profits and losses for their contribution to the general welfare. Market imperfections and the range of permissible prices (at least within the boundaries of exploitation) prevent the alignment from being a direct one, but the connection generally holds. In the context of the market, this thesis preserves the central place of moral responsibility in moral desert. It also satisfies the fittingness and proportionality conditions of moral desert and provides a backward-looking and pre-institutional ground of it. In addition, the focus on contribution unifies several different types of act-based desert, specifically deserved profits and losses, deserved punishment, and deserved wages. Hence, to the extent that desert-satisfaction is relevant in the selection of an economic system, this result strengthens the case for capitalism.

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  • Kershnar, Stephen, 2005. "Giving Capitalists Their Due," Economics and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(1), pages 65-87, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:ecnphi:v:21:y:2005:i:01:p:65-87_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Joakim Sandberg & Alexander Andersson, 2022. "CEO Pay and the Argument from Peer Comparison," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(4), pages 759-771, February.
    2. Marek Hudon, 2006. "Fair interest rates when lending to the poor: Are fair prices derived from basic principles of justice?," Working Papers CEB 06-015.RS, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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