The Virtue of Business: How Markets Encourage Ethical Behavior

Abstract

Popular media is filled with claims about the immorality of the marketplace and businessmen. In this article, we question these claims. Because individuals as consumers want to support ethical behavior, if individuals are ethical, markets will tend to enhance, rather than retard, ethical behavior. The enhancement is carried out by ethical entrepreneurs who change and influence the way that business practices are carried out. We illustrate our argument with the examples of Barnum & Bailey Circus, Whole Foods Market, and BB&T Bank.