Self-Interest, Altruism and the Concept of Morality in the Market Economy: An inquiry into the premise of moral order

The recent “near-death experience” of the global economy, the “great recession” still unfolding, has once again brought into question the morality of the modern market economy. As with so many other market failures, this one, originating in the subterranean obscurity of synthetic financial products ingeniously constructed upon the risks of mortgage-backed securities, has invited scrutiny of the moral standards which prevail in our modern global market. Joseph Stiglitz views this present crisis as the latest in a long string of market failures, and finds in the aftermath of its destructive force ample evidence of erosion of ethical integrity. Rather than being motivated by virtue or generally honored moral purposes, he laments that: We have gone far down an alternate path—creating a society in which materialism dominates moral commitment, in which the rapid growth that we have achieved is not sustainable environmentally or socially, in which we do not act together as a community to address our common needs, partly because rugged individualism and market fundamentalism have eroded any sense of community and have led to rampant exploitation of unwary and unprotected individuals and to an increasing social divide.