The German nineteenth century philosopher, Immanuel Kant, wrote that there are two kinds of things: things that have a price and those that have a dignity. For Kant, only human beings have a dignity because they alone have autonomy. I would like to suggest that we should add to Kant’s list of those things that have a dignity the biosphere in which we live, or to say it in other words, the biosphere is priceless.
Marvin T. Brown, Ph.D teaches business and organizational ethics at the University of San Francisco and Saybrook University in San Francisco.
This book is the culmination of 30 years of teaching and writing on business and society from a communicative perspective. Visit workingethics.com for more information.
Adam Smith American Dream Atlantic trade banks biosphere citizen Citizens United civic civic conversations civic economy Civicism civic membership civilizing the economy civil war Commons corporate citizen corporations democracy disagreement economics of property economics of provision Egypt health care reform human dignity invisible hand John Locke libertarianism Libya living wage membership money moral equality ownership property property rights protection Scotland slavery Smith and slavery Smithian economics sports sustainability system of provision taxes tobacco trade