Thesis (M.A.)--Columbia Biblical Seminary and Graduate School of Missions, 1996. / Abstrakt. English title: Thoughts on ethical principles relating to business activities : a survey of biblical foundations of Christian approaches to business ethics. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [123]-129).

This dissertation is grounded in the belief that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is good for society. However, current indicators stemming from the marketplace raise concerns as to CSR's long term viability. In this dissertation, I argue that corporate social responsibility has reached a tipping point from which it may move to become a fully informed and dominant practice or recede into the status of a passing fad. This project is driven by the question,"What might be done to better ensure a fuller adoption of CSR as a standard business practice?" I am particularly interested in (1) why society needs CSR and (2) how CSR can be sustained. To answer this question, it will be necessary to engage the marketplace of commerce, understand CSR as it is currently implemented, and explore the relationship between CSR and neoclassical economic thought. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts / Communication and Rhetorical Studies / PhD / Dissertation

Esta dissertação de mestrado diz respeito ao princípio da precaução - uma afirmação sobre a necessidade de agir com cautela, independentemente da incerteza sobre os potenciais impactos da atividade humana - e suas implicações para as políticas públicas, especialmente aquelas relacionadas à mudança climática. O trabalho pretende estabelecer uma ligação entre os debates em torno do princípio e a abordagem do Desenvolvimento Humano, particularmente com base nas formulações de Amartya Sen, de modo a servir de base teórica para a interpretação o princípio. O primeiro capítulo apresenta as origens, acepções e controvérsias em torno do princípio, configurando os componentes de sua definição, a saber: o seu componente ético; a incerteza sobre relações de causalidade; a demanda por ação e seus graus de força; e a necessidade de um processo participativo de tomada de decisão. O segundo capítulo apresenta alguns elementos da abordagem de Sen em relação à dimensão ética das políticas públicas e a tensão entre os critérios habituais do arcabouço convencional das decisões sociais e a liberdade mínima, e também discute a racionalidade do agente econômico, a base informacional de avaliação de consequências e ideia de justiça do autor, que conjuntamente estabelecem as bases teóricas para uma interpretação particular do princípio. Por fim, o terceiro capítulo visa utilizar essas formulações para lançar luz sobre a questão da mudança climática, já que suas características clamam pelo uso do princípio. A inerente complexidade, a potencial irreversibilidade, a incerteza e os aspectos distributivos da questão ambiental estão relacionados com os elementos centrais do princípio, mas a sua aplicação não resulta em orientações claras e incontroversas para a ação. Propõe-se que a interpretação do princípio através das lentes do Desenvolvimento Humano pode fornecer novos insights e contribuir para a formulação de políticas públicas para a Mudança Climática, de forma que Economia e Ética possam trabalhar juntas. / This master dissertation concerns the Precautionary Principle – a statement on the need to act with caution regardless of the uncertainty about the potential impacts of human activity - and its implications for Public Policy, especially those related to Climate Change. The dissertation intends to establish a link between the debates around the principle and the Human Development Approach, particularly based on Amartya Sen‟s formulations, so as to serve as a theoretical basis for interpreting the principle. The first chapter presents the origins, meanings and controversies around the principle, setting up the constituents of its definition, namely: its ethical component; the uncertainty about causal relationships; the demand for action and its degrees of strength; and the need for a participatory process of decision-making. The second chapter presents a few elements of Sen‟s approach towards the ethical dimension of public policies and the tension between the usual criteria of the conventional framework for social decisions and minimal liberty, and also discusses the rationality of the economic agent, the informational basis of consequence evaluation and the author‟s idea of justice, which combined establish the theoretical foundations for a particular interpretation of the principle. Lastly, the third chapter aims to use these formulations to throw light on the issue of Climate Change, since its characteristics call for the use of the principle. The inherent complexity, potential irreversibility, uncertainty and distributional aspects of the environmental issue are related to the core elements of the principle, but its application does not result on clear and uncontroversial guidelines for action. We propose that interpreting the principle through the lens of Human Development may provide new insights and contribute to the formulation of public policies for Climate Change in a way that Economics and Ethics may work together.

Esta dissertação de mestrado diz respeito ao princípio da precaução - uma afirmação sobre a necessidade de agir com cautela, independentemente da incerteza sobre os potenciais impactos da atividade humana - e suas implicações para as políticas públicas, especialmente aquelas relacionadas à mudança climática. O trabalho pretende estabelecer uma ligação entre os debates em torno do princípio e a abordagem do Desenvolvimento Humano, particularmente com base nas formulações de Amartya Sen, de modo a servir de base teórica para a interpretação o princípio. O primeiro capítulo apresenta as origens, acepções e controvérsias em torno do princípio, configurando os componentes de sua definição, a saber: o seu componente ético; a incerteza sobre relações de causalidade; a demanda por ação e seus graus de força; e a necessidade de um processo participativo de tomada de decisão. O segundo capítulo apresenta alguns elementos da abordagem de Sen em relação à dimensão ética das políticas públicas e a tensão entre os critérios habituais do arcabouço convencional das decisões sociais e a liberdade mínima, e também discute a racionalidade do agente econômico, a base informacional de avaliação de consequências e ideia de justiça do autor, que conjuntamente estabelecem as bases teóricas para uma interpretação particular do princípio. Por fim, o terceiro capítulo visa utilizar essas formulações para lançar luz sobre a questão da mudança climática, já que suas características clamam pelo uso do princípio. A inerente complexidade, a potencial irreversibilidade, a incerteza e os aspectos distributivos da questão ambiental estão relacionados com os elementos centrais do princípio, mas a sua aplicação não resulta em orientações claras e incontroversas para a ação. Propõe-se que a interpretação do princípio através das lentes do Desenvolvimento Humano pode fornecer novos insights e contribuir para a formulação de políticas públicas para a Mudança Climática, de forma que Economia e Ética possam trabalhar juntas. / This master dissertation concerns the Precautionary Principle – a statement on the need to act with caution regardless of the uncertainty about the potential impacts of human activity - and its implications for Public Policy, especially those related to Climate Change. The dissertation intends to establish a link between the debates around the principle and the Human Development Approach, particularly based on Amartya Sen‟s formulations, so as to serve as a theoretical basis for interpreting the principle. The first chapter presents the origins, meanings and controversies around the principle, setting up the constituents of its definition, namely: its ethical component; the uncertainty about causal relationships; the demand for action and its degrees of strength; and the need for a participatory process of decision-making. The second chapter presents a few elements of Sen‟s approach towards the ethical dimension of public policies and the tension between the usual criteria of the conventional framework for social decisions and minimal liberty, and also discusses the rationality of the economic agent, the informational basis of consequence evaluation and the author‟s idea of justice, which combined establish the theoretical foundations for a particular interpretation of the principle. Lastly, the third chapter aims to use these formulations to throw light on the issue of Climate Change, since its characteristics call for the use of the principle. The inherent complexity, potential irreversibility, uncertainty and distributional aspects of the environmental issue are related to the core elements of the principle, but its application does not result on clear and uncontroversial guidelines for action. We propose that interpreting the principle through the lens of Human Development may provide new insights and contribute to the formulation of public policies for Climate Change in a way that Economics and Ethics may work together.

Esta dissertação de mestrado diz respeito ao princípio da precaução - uma afirmação sobre a necessidade de agir com cautela, independentemente da incerteza sobre os potenciais impactos da atividade humana - e suas implicações para as políticas públicas, especialmente aquelas relacionadas à mudança climática. O trabalho pretende estabelecer uma ligação entre os debates em torno do princípio e a abordagem do Desenvolvimento Humano, particularmente com base nas formulações de Amartya Sen, de modo a servir de base teórica para a interpretação o princípio. O primeiro capítulo apresenta as origens, acepções e controvérsias em torno do princípio, configurando os componentes de sua definição, a saber: o seu componente ético; a incerteza sobre relações de causalidade; a demanda por ação e seus graus de força; e a necessidade de um processo participativo de tomada de decisão. O segundo capítulo apresenta alguns elementos da abordagem de Sen em relação à dimensão ética das políticas públicas e a tensão entre os critérios habituais do arcabouço convencional das decisões sociais e a liberdade mínima, e também discute a racionalidade do agente econômico, a base informacional de avaliação de consequências e ideia de justiça do autor, que conjuntamente estabelecem as bases teóricas para uma interpretação particular do princípio. Por fim, o terceiro capítulo visa utilizar essas formulações para lançar luz sobre a questão da mudança climática, já que suas características clamam pelo uso do princípio. A inerente complexidade, a potencial irreversibilidade, a incerteza e os aspectos distributivos da questão ambiental estão relacionados com os elementos centrais do princípio, mas a sua aplicação não resulta em orientações claras e incontroversas para a ação. Propõe-se que a interpretação do princípio através das lentes do Desenvolvimento Humano pode fornecer novos insights e contribuir para a formulação de políticas públicas para a Mudança Climática, de forma que Economia e Ética possam trabalhar juntas. / This master dissertation concerns the Precautionary Principle – a statement on the need to act with caution regardless of the uncertainty about the potential impacts of human activity - and its implications for Public Policy, especially those related to Climate Change. The dissertation intends to establish a link between the debates around the principle and the Human Development Approach, particularly based on Amartya Sen‟s formulations, so as to serve as a theoretical basis for interpreting the principle. The first chapter presents the origins, meanings and controversies around the principle, setting up the constituents of its definition, namely: its ethical component; the uncertainty about causal relationships; the demand for action and its degrees of strength; and the need for a participatory process of decision-making. The second chapter presents a few elements of Sen‟s approach towards the ethical dimension of public policies and the tension between the usual criteria of the conventional framework for social decisions and minimal liberty, and also discusses the rationality of the economic agent, the informational basis of consequence evaluation and the author‟s idea of justice, which combined establish the theoretical foundations for a particular interpretation of the principle. Lastly, the third chapter aims to use these formulations to throw light on the issue of Climate Change, since its characteristics call for the use of the principle. The inherent complexity, potential irreversibility, uncertainty and distributional aspects of the environmental issue are related to the core elements of the principle, but its application does not result on clear and uncontroversial guidelines for action. We propose that interpreting the principle through the lens of Human Development may provide new insights and contribute to the formulation of public policies for Climate Change in a way that Economics and Ethics may work together.

Es ist noch nicht lange her, da Wirtschaftslehre alles andere als ein Beitrag zur Bildung verstanden worden ist. Nachdem aber die Wirtschaft als eines der gesellschaftlichen Subsysteme zunehmend in den Vordergrund der Diskurse in der Gesellschaft getreten ist, hat auch die Ökonomische Bildung Konjunktur. Allerdings wird diese Bezeichnung nicht selten von interessierter Seite für eine rein qualifikationsorientierte Erziehung benutzt, was ihren Status erneut angreifbar macht. Ökonomische Bildung ist aber als Bildung gleichermaßen auf die gesellschaftlichen wie die individuellen Bezüge ausgerichtet. Hier wird ein weiterer Versuch unter-nommen, die unter dieser Maßgabe zu behandelnden Themenbereiche zu umreißen und in einem konzeptionell systematisch konsistenten Zusammenhang darzulegen.

Over the past five years, Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become a prominent phenomenon in contemporary capitalism. Described as government investment vehicles that invest state wealth in financial markets, the majority of the world's 60-plus funds have been established since the year 2000. Despite extensive treatments of SWFs' geopolitical and international significance, ethical and domestic level analyses are sparse. In response, this thesis interrogates three key normative questions raised by the funds for the domestic citizen-state relationship: (1) How (and by whom) should sovereign funds be managed? (2) How should sovereign wealth be invested? (3) How should the earnings of sovereign fund investment be distributed? In answering these questions, this thesis aims to dispel ambiguity over the ownership status of sovereign funds, evident in popular and academic discourse and within communities that establish these entities. For this task, it draws on recently revived fiduciary theory of the citizen-state relationship to argue that the rightful owner of these funds is the citizenry - not states or governments who enjoy physical and legal possession of SWFs. It goes on to examine the implications of this fiduciary state conception of SWF ownership, asking how citizen-owners should enjoy control over and benefit from the distinct constituent parts of their SWF property: the institution of the fund, the underlying sovereign wealth and the financial returns earned on the investment of its assets. The model of citizen ownership defended demands substantially increased popular control over SWF management and the investment of sovereign wealth, as well as direct benefit rights for citizen-owners to fund income through individualised distribution of investment returns. Examination of existing practice among SWFs demonstrates that this normative ideal is far, although not impossibly distant from current institutional practice.

Thèse réalisée en cotutelle avec l'Institut supérieur de philosophie, Université catholique de Louvain. / L’argument de cette thèse est le suivant : dans la rivalité, un agent peut tenter de satisfaire ses préférences aux dépens de celles des autres si cela permet de produire des bénéfices sociaux impossibles à produire autrement (et si ces comportements ne causent pas des torts trop grands). Développer cet argument équivaut à développer une éthique adversative, c’est-à-dire une formulation de la moralité dans des contextes comme une compétition sportive ou un procès. Cette éthique sera développée et appliquée aux comportements des agents économiques dans les marchés économiques. On répondra à deux questions. La première question porte sur le design de nos institutions sociales. On peut façonner une institution en ayant recours à un schème adversatif, c’est-à-dire un pattern d’interactions sociales remplissant sa fonction par une dynamique de rivalité. Quand est-il désirable d’avoir recours à ce type de schème? Il est désirable si le rapport entre sa fonctionnalité et ses torts est 1) acceptable et 2) comparativement préférable aux autres schèmes. Ces deux conditions forment un test (développé dans le premier chapitre). Le marché réussit ce test (deuxième chapitre). Dans un schème adversatif, on doit avoir la permission de se comporter de manière adversative. Mais cette permission ne s’applique pas à l’extérieur du schème ou à l’intérieur de schèmes non adversatifs incorporés (comme une entreprise dans un marché ou une équipe dans une compétition sportive). Superposées l’une à l’autre, ces deux limites créent une division tripartite ou une tripartition de la moralité applicable à un agent économique. Cette tripartition permet d’éviter certains problèmes du modèle de la primauté des actionnaires et de la théorie des parties prenantes (troisième chapitre). La deuxième question porte sur la moralité à l’échelle individuelle. Comment doit-on se comporter dans un schème adversatif? Il faut incarner l’idéal de la rivalité bénéfique, ce qui implique 1) de contenir ses comportements adversatifs à l’intérieur du schème, 2) d’en respecter les règles et 3) d’adopter des comportements permettant au schème de réussir le test (quatrième chapitre). Cet idéal évite certains problèmes avec l’idéal de la saine concurrence de Joseph Heath et l’idéal de la concurrence positive de Lynn Sharp Paine (cinquième chapitre). / The argument of my thesis can be summarised as follows: in the context of rivalry, an agent may attempt to satisfy his or her preferences at the expense of other agents’ preferences if this generates social benefits that could not be generated otherwise (without producing too much harm). This argument leads to an adversarial ethics, that is, a description of our moral obligations in contexts like a sport competition or a trial. This ethics will be developed and applied to the behavior of economic agents in the market. I will address two main questions. The first question focuses on the design of our social institutions. An adversarial scheme is a pattern of social interactions that fulfills its function through a dynamic of rivalry. Parts of our institutions can be modeled as adversarial schemes. When is it desirable to use these schemes? It is desirable if the balance between the scheme’s functionality and harms is 1) acceptable and 2) preferable by comparison with other schemes. These two conditions yield a test. The test is developed in the first chapter. The second chapter argues that the market passes this test. An agent must be allowed to adopt adversarial behaviors in an adversarial scheme. But this permission does not apply to his or her behavior outside the scheme or inside non-adversarial incorporated schemes (like a firm in the market or a team in sport competitions). These two criteria, once combined, yield a threefold distinction or a tripartition of the moral obligation of economic agents, which solves some of the problems with the shareholder primacy view and the stakeholder theory. The tripartition and its implications are presented in the third chapter. The second question focuses on our moral obligations at the personal level. How ought we to behave in an adversarial scheme? In the fourth chapter, I argue that we ought to adopt the ideal of beneficial rivalry, which implies that we ought to: 1) contain our adversarial behaviors inside the scheme, 2) respect the scheme’s rules and 3) adopt a behavior that will allow the scheme to pass the desirability test (developed in the first chapter). The fifth chapter argues that this ideal avoids some of the problems with Joseph Heath’s ideal of healthy competition and Lynn Sharp Paine’s ideal of positive competition.

L’argument de cette thèse est le suivant : dans la rivalité, un agent peut tenter de satisfaire ses préférences aux dépens de celles des autres si cela permet de produire des bénéfices sociaux impossibles à produire autrement (et si ces comportements ne causent pas des torts trop grands). Développer cet argument équivaut à développer une éthique adversative, c’est-à-dire une formulation de la moralité dans des contextes comme une compétition sportive ou un procès. Cette éthique sera développée et appliquée aux comportements des agents économiques dans les marchés économiques. On répondra à deux questions. La première question porte sur le design de nos institutions sociales. On peut façonner une institution en ayant recours à un schème adversatif, c’est-à-dire un pattern d’interactions sociales remplissant sa fonction par une dynamique de rivalité. Quand est-il désirable d’avoir recours à ce type de schème? Il est désirable si le rapport entre sa fonctionnalité et ses torts est 1) acceptable et 2) comparativement préférable aux autres schèmes. Ces deux conditions forment un test (développé dans le premier chapitre). Le marché réussit ce test (deuxième chapitre). Dans un schème adversatif, on doit avoir la permission de se comporter de manière adversative. Mais cette permission ne s’applique pas à l’extérieur du schème ou à l’intérieur de schèmes non adversatifs incorporés (comme une entreprise dans un marché ou une équipe dans une compétition sportive). Superposées l’une à l’autre, ces deux limites créent une division tripartite ou une tripartition de la moralité applicable à un agent économique. Cette tripartition permet d’éviter certains problèmes du modèle de la primauté des actionnaires et de la théorie des parties prenantes (troisième chapitre). La deuxième question porte sur la moralité à l’échelle individuelle. Comment doit-on se comporter dans un schème adversatif? Il faut incarner l’idéal de la rivalité bénéfique, ce qui implique 1) de contenir ses comportements adversatifs à l’intérieur du schème, 2) d’en respecter les règles et 3) d’adopter des comportements permettant au schème de réussir le test (quatrième chapitre). Cet idéal évite certains problèmes avec l’idéal de la saine concurrence de Joseph Heath et l’idéal de la concurrence positive de Lynn Sharp Paine (cinquième chapitre). / The argument of my thesis can be summarised as follows: in the context of rivalry, an agent may attempt to satisfy his or her preferences at the expense of other agents’ preferences if this generates social benefits that could not be generated otherwise (without producing too much harm). This argument leads to an adversarial ethics, that is, a description of our moral obligations in contexts like a sport competition or a trial. This ethics will be developed and applied to the behavior of economic agents in the market. I will address two main questions. The first question focuses on the design of our social institutions. An adversarial scheme is a pattern of social interactions that fulfills its function through a dynamic of rivalry. Parts of our institutions can be modeled as adversarial schemes. When is it desirable to use these schemes? It is desirable if the balance between the scheme’s functionality and harms is 1) acceptable and 2) preferable by comparison with other schemes. These two conditions yield a test. The test is developed in the first chapter. The second chapter argues that the market passes this test. An agent must be allowed to adopt adversarial behaviors in an adversarial scheme. But this permission does not apply to his or her behavior outside the scheme or inside non-adversarial incorporated schemes (like a firm in the market or a team in sport competitions). These two criteria, once combined, yield a threefold distinction or a tripartition of the moral obligation of economic agents, which solves some of the problems with the shareholder primacy view and the stakeholder theory. The tripartition and its implications are presented in the third chapter. The second question focuses on our moral obligations at the personal level. How ought we to behave in an adversarial scheme? In the fourth chapter, I argue that we ought to adopt the ideal of beneficial rivalry, which implies that we ought to: 1) contain our adversarial behaviors inside the scheme, 2) respect the scheme’s rules and 3) adopt a behavior that will allow the scheme to pass the desirability test (developed in the first chapter). The fifth chapter argues that this ideal avoids some of the problems with Joseph Heath’s ideal of healthy competition and Lynn Sharp Paine’s ideal of positive competition. / Thèse réalisée en cotutelle avec l'Institut supérieur de philosophie, Université catholique de Louvain.

Es ist noch nicht lange her, da Wirtschaftslehre alles andere als ein Beitrag zur Bildung verstanden worden ist. Nachdem aber die Wirtschaft als eines der gesellschaftlichen Subsysteme zunehmend in den Vordergrund der Diskurse in der Gesellschaft getreten ist, hat auch die Ökonomische Bildung Konjunktur. Allerdings wird diese Bezeichnung nicht selten von interessierter Seite für eine rein qualifikationsorientierte Erziehung benutzt, was ihren Status erneut angreifbar macht. Ökonomische Bildung ist aber als Bildung gleichermaßen auf die gesellschaftlichen wie die individuellen Bezüge ausgerichtet. Hier wird ein weiterer Versuch unter-nommen, die unter dieser Maßgabe zu behandelnden Themenbereiche zu umreißen und in einem konzeptionell systematisch konsistenten Zusammenhang darzulegen.:1 Wirtschaftslehre im Spannungsfeld von Missverständnissen 2 2 Ein bildungsorientiertes Konzept ökonomischer Erziehung 4 2.1 Theoretisches Fundament wirtschaftlichen Handelns 5 2.2 Handlungsoptionen und Entscheidungsimperative des Wirtschaftssubjekts 6 2.2.1 Das riskante Handeln des Konsumenten und Vorsorgers in der Zeit 7 2.2.2 Begrenzung des Wirtschaftens durch die zuhanden stehenden Ressourcen 9 2.2.3 Erwerbsarbeit als Grundlage oder Erweiterung der Ressourcen 10 2.2.4 Wirken als Wirtschaftsbürger 11 2.3 Mitgliedschaft in ökonomischen Soziosystemen als Bedingungsrahmen 12 2.3.1 Oikonomia: Der Haushalt als die Keimzelle der Volkswirtschaft 12 2.3.2 Betriebswirtschaftslehre: Das Unternehmen als produktives Subsystem 13 2.3.3 Volkswirtschaftslehre: Die Volkswirtschaft als umfassendes soziales System des Wirtschaftens 14 2.4 Regulativer Überbau wirtschaftlichen Handelns 16 2.4.1 Wirtschaftssteuerung, Wirtschaftsordnung und verfasstes Recht 17 2.4.2 Beiträge der Glücksethiken zur ökonomischen Bildung 18 2.4.3 Beiträge der Normethiken zur ökonomischen Bildung 20 3 Erziehung zur ökonomischen Bildung – Ökonomie ganz oder gar nicht? 25 Literaturverzeichnis 27