Adam Smith, the main architect of free market capitalism, said it “cannot exist outside an ethical context.” Whether capitalism, tech, govt or something else, everything will be dangerous until we replace the question “How much $ will it make?” with “Is it the right thing to do?”

Sep 15, 2020 · 6:59 PM UTC

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Replying to @marwilliamson
when it comes to business doing the right thing for your customers and profits go hand in hand
Replying to @marwilliamson
Adam Smith didn’t think wanting to make money was immoral. He wrote on his view of ethics in one of his most famous books: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Th…
Replying to @marwilliamson
Nothing exists “outside an ethical context.” Not just free markets.
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It's always the right thing to do because only by offering goods and services people need does one make money. I very much doubt that Smith meant anything other than "one must honor one's contracts" when he wrote the words, "an ethical context."
Besides the fact that Smith meant only "honor your contracts" when he spoke of ethics, he was not "the main architect" of anything. He simply described what happens when people work, buy, and sell. Capital is *stored* wealth, whether it be money, grain, or a good idea.
Replying to @marwilliamson
Your first sentence does not agree with the second. You begin by saying that commerce should be *supplemented* by ethics and go on to say that profit/loss considerations should be *replaced* by an entirely different standard.
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Replying to @marwilliamson
Adam Smith wrote Moral Sentiments which was much more important during his day.
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Replying to @marwilliamson
Yes! Milton “Only Profit Matters” Friedman was a goddam psychopath.
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Replying to @marwilliamson
Until S-corps are required to prioritize health and environment as at least equal pillars to paying dividends, this problem will persist.
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