The Ethics of Capitalism

A Companion to the Book

Published by Oxford University Press

Can capitalism have moral foundations? Daniel Halliday and John Thrasher address this question by considering foundational, philosophical approaches to both longstanding and newly emerging questions about justice and market society. 

“…the important distinction is between government as an enabler and support of market order, and government as a commander and designer of the whole productive and distributive enterprise.”

“We compare the working of actual capitalist societies with plausible alternatives the best we can using the tools of economics, social science, history, and philosophy. We know at the outset that neither capitalism nor its rivals are perfect; the question is which is likely to be better along the dimensions we care about.”

“it is not really markets that are free or unfree, but participants within them, namely individual people and organizations, like firms, who possess the market freedoms (principally of property and contract).”
Chapter 1 Available for Download
NEW Bonus Chapter

Capitalism and COVID-19:
Some Early Thoughts About Economic Justice and The Current Pandemic

About the Book

The Ethics of Capitalism provides a framework for comparing the economic systems of capitalism, feudalism, and socialism, and their roles in a range of contemporary issues, such as climate change, competitive consumption, unemployment, taxation, social inequality, global trade, and intrusion of markets into taboo areas.

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How do various
economic systems adapt
in a rapidly changing world?

Teaching Resources

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Model Syllabi

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Bonus Chapters

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About the Authors

Dr. John Thrasher is a philosopher who specializes in political philosophy and PPE (Philosophy, Politics, & Economics). He is based in the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy at Chapman University, an interdisciplinary center that fosters research and teaching that challenges the perceived tensions between the humanities and economics. His work has been published in The American Journal of Political Science, Nature Communications, Philosophical Studies, The Journal of Politics, Synthese, Human Nature, The Journal of Moral Philosophy, Political Studies, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Biology & Philosophy, Social Philosophy & Policy, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, The European Journal of Philosophy, The Adam Smith Review, and several edited volumes.

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Dr. Dan Halliday is a Political Philosopher, based at the University of Melbourne. In 2017, he presented a TV series on practical ethics and political philosophy called Ethics Matters, with the help of some other philosophers and Snodger Media. Dr. Halliday is also part of a team of philosophers working on Dialogues – a series of podcasts on topics in applied ethics, produced by Snodger Media. He has worked closely with other philosophers like Holly Lawford-Smith, Richard Rowland, and Christian Barry. 

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John Thrasher

John Thrasher

Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy &
Smith Institute for Political Economy & Philosophy
Chapman University

Daniel Halliday

Daniel Halliday

Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer in Political Philosophy, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, Faculty of Arts
University of Melbourne

The Ethics of Capitalism

Online Companion

Publish by Oxford University Press

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Bonus Chapters

  • Capitalism and COVID-19