Morality of the Economic Market

¶ … Morality of the Economic Market

The Blank Position Supporting Government Regulation

According to Blank, the "market model" is not appropriately applicable to describe the behavior of individual human beings. In principle, the author suggests that this macroscopic view of human behavior contradicts the fundamental concept of free will. On the other hand, Blank maintains that the highly complex institutions, processes, and systems that have evolved within the modern economic environment are too important and too susceptible to errors, oversights, and also to intentional exploitation by individuals and entities who willfully violate religious moral principles and secular laws for personal gain.

Blank reminds us that government regulation is merely a more modern and complex version of the basic social institutions of the social human communities whose establishment is promoted throughout biblical history. Just as the public good and the greatest benefit of all within the human community requires laws, tribunals, and sanctions imposed for violating the rights and interests of others, so do the same underlying concerns require government regulation and oversight of those institutions whose improper or dishonest functioning poses tremendous risk to scores of other individuals within the community.

Blank acknowledges that government regulatory and oversight processes are susceptible to error and even to the impropriety of individuals charged with that responsibility. However, she maintains that even the imperfect government regulatory systems are far preferable to the potential risks associated with unregulated modern economic institutions.

The McGurn Position against Government Regulation

McGurn argues that the economic markets have benefited the human community far more than they have harmed the human community, even with the most catastrophic failures that have resulted from short-term crises and "corrections." According to McGurn, the economic system evolves in a natural manner in which self-regulation is sufficient, in the long-term, to ensure that its predominant effect on the human community is positive.

McGurn suggests that even the highly complex modern economic markets and financial institutions reflect the values and morals of the community; collectively, they merely manifest the free will exercised by the individuals who control their operations and strategies. In that respect, McGurn reminds us that economic systems and institutions are inanimate and not capable of exercising either moral judgment or immoral exploitations. Rather, morality is a duty of individuals and of the human community to establish through appropriate social values. On the whole, McGurn argues that even the most disastrous economic catastrophes play a role in allowing corrective mechanisms to evolve internally; no interference from government is necessary.

Analysis and Criticism of the Religious Approach to Economic Market Regulation

In principle, the a priori assumption that religion is a beneficial perspective for human conduct and that of institutions is patently flawed. Secular moral theorists might argue (rightfully) that memorizing moral rules such as those promoted by the Christian traditions are incapable of generating a genuine moral perspective. Instead, those values (and that method of teaching them) result only in self-interested reasons for moral conduct (i.e. Divine judgment and punishment) and not genuine social responsibility.