Institutions, Principles and Judgement: the Relevance of the Natural Law Tradition for Articulating Business in a Global Context

Abstract

In this article I argue the relevance of natural law for framingand addressing ethical issues raised by the practice of business in a globalcontext. There are historical, as well as systematic reasons for this. On thehistorical side, it can be argued that the origin of modern economics is linkedto a cultural context, still influenced by modern natural law theories. Thus,even if Hume’s moral theory is everything but a natural law theory, either inthe traditional or the modern sense, his “laws of nature” (fixation of property,rules for its transference, and promises) represent a systematization of therules of justice necessary to preserve the space of economic freedom requiredfor development of a commercial society. This systematization is in line withthe classical approach to natural law, which nevertheless presents furtheradvantages for developing an ethical approach to economic activity, since itbrings with itself a conception of economic agency richer than that of Hume:a conception that is not necessarily linked to pursuit self-interest, but ratheris inspired by ethical motives right from the start. Indeed, on the systematicside, the classical natural law is seen as the law of practical reason: a set ofprinciples in charge of inspiring both virtuous action and legal practice, so thatwe can realize the human good. Assuming the embodied and social nature ofhuman beings, as well as the various cultural realizations of humanity, a naturallaw approach to ethics is in a position to stimulate a dynamic and bottomuparticulation of the personal and common good, concern for progress andsustainable development, universal principles and cultural variations.

DOI: 10.5294/pecu.2015.18.2.3