Capitalism in Question: Ethics and the Economy

Is the market system or capitalism inherently unethical? Or perhaps it’s inherently ethical? Or neither? The debate about the characteristics of various economic systems has been going on for hundreds of years. It’s clear that the market system has won as far as being adopted by more countries. But is it fair or ethical? We will discuss whether the market system encourages ethical behavior, drawing on the work of economists, psychologists, philosophers and others.

Dennis Sheehan, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of finance at the Penn State University Smeal College of Business. He previously taught in the business schools at Purdue University, the University of Chicago and the University of Rochester. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Georgetown University and received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. Dennis is happily retired in his hometown of Newport.