EDUCATORS’ PERSPECTIVE must occupy it and no government should attempt to impose its will upon it. There is always common ground for ethical behavior, and we must encourage future generations to never stop searching for it.
Brian Grinder is a professor at Eastern Washington University and a member of Financial History’ s editorial board. Dr. Dan Cooper is the president of Active Learning Technologies.
“ Moses Breaks the Tables of the Law,” from Gustave Dore’ s English Bible, 1866. Capitalism’ s ethical roots lie in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
to correct the problem, including ethics training for employees. Faith, justice, integrity and courage are all virtues that Wells Fargo must encourage and instill in its employees over the long term if it truly wants to restore its reputation.
Self-interest’ s domination of economic life led to ruin during the financial meltdown of 2008. If capitalism is to function properly again, it must have a strong ethical foundation that balances all the virtues properly. Motivating ethical behavior without imposing it through government action or relying on self-regulation will never be easy. But Novak’ s empty shrine must remain empty; no single religion
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Mandeville, Bernard. The Fable of the Bees or Private Vices, Publick Benefits. Liberty Fund: Indianapolis, IN. 1988.
McCloskey, Deirdre N. The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce. University of Chicago Press: Chicago. 2006.
Nelson, Robert H. Economics as Religion: From Samuelson to Chicago and Beyond. Pennsylvania State University Press: University Park, PA. 2001.
Novak, Michael. Business as a Calling: Work and the Examined Life. The Free Press: New York. 1996.
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12 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Summer 2018 | www. MoAF. org