Ethics Economics

Throughout the years we have seen how capitalism has grown in the United States. Capitalism is a system in economics based on the creation of goods and/or services for a profit. Things like: competition, wages, and laissez-faire are also elements to capitalism. It means the country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit. Though capitalism may give you the freedom to succeed in the business world, others feel it’s an unfair distribution of wealth: they say it’s unethical. Business ethics is a form of ethics that oversee the activities of business to avoid the affects business has on the population. But business ethics is unable to please everyone. It goes down to the standards in which we use to determine whether it is ethical or not. Ideals like values, religion, duty, and culture affect a person’s mind frame on business ethics and capitalism.

Many critiques on capitalism include social inequality and unfair distribution. Subjects like environmental wellness are brought up when speaking about capitalism. Environmentalists have debated that capitalism will eventually deplete the natural resources of the Earth. This may be due to the fact that Economics is the study on making the best choices to allocate scarce resources to satisfy the unlimited wants of firms. Unlimited wants for finite resources has an affect on our environment.

Religion is usually a very influential element in the decision on what standards are used when regulating the ethics in business concerning capitalism. There are many religions that forbid capitalism practices such as money lending with interest payments. Another example is Christianity; Christians often criticize capitalism because their beliefs go against materialism, they also believe we are responsible for everyone’s wellbeing. Capitalism is more independent: each person is responsible for his/her own wealth.

On the other hand, with capitalism consumers are able to work hard for their financial status. The market is competitive and products are offered at a large variety. Both the consumer and the companies are able to control the market without much governmental interference. With capitalism

...