Ethicism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ethicism (from the Ancient Greek "ethikos", meaning "arising from habit") is a generic term for any process or action that is ethical.
Ethicism is what is happening when businesses make money through being more ethical. For example - a sportswear company invests heavily in improving employee working conditions in overseas factories. The company then advertises the fact that it had made this invest, and outlines plans to do more. If value of the extra consumer spending and goodwill is worth more that this investment then that's 'ethicism'.
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[edit] Politics
Ethicism is really a central political idea - a purple policy. Ethicism is not something that could be taken off the agenda if a different party came into power.
When liberal ethical concerns, can be peacefully complimented by a capitalist profit focus, the intended result is economic growth, combined with increased social harmony.
[edit] Economics
Economically, a focus on ethicism can be made in three main areas: (1) governance, (2) industry, and (3) consumerism. The challenge is for these three groups to take action that is to the good of, and not to the detriment of: (a) the consumer, (b) animals and the environment, and (c) employees.
The theory suggests, that if the three main parties (governance, industry, and consumers) continually address ethical issues in the three main areas, the result will be undeniably more efficient progress toward a more perfect future global society.
The key to the success of ethicism, is the degree to which people care. The more we move away from zero-sum games, and the more we move towards non-zero-sum games, the more effective our ethical actions become. By increasing consumer understanding, for example, on issues such as recycling, fair trade, and carbon emissions, we are contributing positively to global non-zero-sum games.
[edit] Ethicism - the major socio-economic movement of the 21st century
Looking to the longer term, 'ethicism' in the 21st century, (and the movements that it encompasses, e.g 'fair trade', 'CSR', etc), can be compared to the major movement toward free trade in the 20th century, and the major movement towards industrialisation in the 19th.
[edit] See also
- Conservative politics - Liberal politics
- Consequentialism - Deontology - Empathy - Moral absolutism - Utilitarianism
- Business ethics - Animal Welfare - Corporate Social Responsibility - Environmentalism
[edit] External links
[edit] General
- ethicism.com
- csr-news.net
- World Bank archived online discussion: "How Can Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives Deliver Results?"
