25 May 2010 Economic.

ppt 1
Ethics, Economic Systems & the
Environment
Ethics
Branch of philosophy;
study of good and bad, right and wrong;
principles by which a person or society judges
right and wrong;
elucidates criteria, standards, or rules for judging
right and wrong.
25 May 2010 Economic.ppt 2
Economics
Study of how people divide or allocate
valuable goods and services
Use of resources
Manufacture goods
Exchange of resources, goods, & services
Setting of value in markets

25 May 2010 Economic.ppt 3
Ethics & Economics
Questions of value
What is valuable?
Money, my car, my house, my computer, my clothes, my cell
phone? My boat! ?
Family, friends, neighborhood?
Birds, mammals, insects, flowers, trees, fish?
Water, air, soil, ecosystem functions, ecosystem services?
What is right?
Keeping my stuff?
Treating other people fairly?
Preserving living things?
Preserving clean water, air, soil, etc?
25 May 2010 Economic.ppt 4
Worldviews
Anthropocentric
Values money, car, house, computer, clothes, cell phone;
Family, friends, neighborhood;
Treating other people fairly;
Denies or ignores rights of non-human entities.
Biocentric
Values birds, mammals, insects, flowers, trees, fish;
Living things have a right to be
Ecocentric
Values clean water, air, soil, ecosystem functions and services;
Ecosystems must be left alone.

25 May 2010 Economic.ppt 5
Worldviews
25 May 2010 Economic.ppt 6
Environmental Ethics & Ethicists
Henry David Thoreau, R.W. Emerson
Nature as manifestation of divine
John Muir
Preservation ethic; natural environment should be kept in
pristine condition
Gifford Pinchot
Conservation ethic; use natural resources wisely,
sustainably.
Aldo Leopold
Land ethic; humans part of land-community
25 May 2010 Economic.ppt 7
Economics
Economy: system of production,
distribution, consumption of goods and
services.
Kinds of economies
Subsistence economy
Centrally planned economy
Capitalist market economy
Mixed economy

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Three schools of economics
Classical economics
Resources (soil, minerals, water, food, etc.)
limited, valuable.
Neoclassical economics
Labor, human resources have value.
Ecological economics
Ecosystem services have value.
Economic Decisions:
Kinds of economies
Subsistence economy
Centrally planned
economy
Capitalist market
economy
Mixed economy

Who makes economic
decisions??
What to produce?
& How much?
How to produce them?
How to distribute?
How to set a price?
Which goods & services
to consume (purchase
and use)?

25 May 2010 Economic.ppt 10
Economic Decisions:
Who makes economic decisions??
Individuals in the marketplace
= Pure Capitalism, Free-market system
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Pure Capitalism
Adam Smith, 1776,
Inquiry into the Nature
and Causes of the
Wealth of Nations.
invisible hand,
laissez faire.
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Pure Capitalism
Works in small economies where information
freely available.
No seller or buyer can control or manipulate.
In large economies, not everyone has information.
Possible to cheat,
manipulate supply or demand,
degrade resources,
pollute.
Economic Decisions:
Who makes economic decisions??
Government
Centrally planned economy.
= pure command economic system,
Former USSR,
China 1947-present.
Germany under Nazi Party (19331945)

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Pure Command System
Does pure command ever work??
too many tractors,
not enough toilet paper!!
Laborers work for State, not for themselves;
Lowers motivation
Reduces innovation
Leaders care little for welfare of people.
Economic Decisions:
Who makes economic decisions??
Corporations
= Corporate capitalist economic system.
Real system in USA?

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Corporate Capitalist System
Corporations attempt to control markets
(market share)
Maximize profits for shareholders !!
Produce at low cost.
cheap foreign labor
resist labor unions
Sell at high price (what the market will bear).
Withhold/conceal information.
Degrade resources, pollute
avoid costs of conservation, clean-up
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Mixed economy
Corporations & small businesses regulated
by government
Encourage entrepreneurism
Prevent monopolies (anti-trust laws)
Modify economic (boom-and-bust) cycles
Bailout
Regulate business practices
Worker safety, product safety & effectiveness
Banking system, insurance, taxation, trade
Pollution may be regulated
25 May 2010 Economic.ppt 19
Mixed economy
Corporations & small businesses regulated
by government
Provide services not available, or affordable, in market
National security
Education
Health care (esp. for poor, elderly)
Economic safety net
Social Security, unemployment insurance
Law enforcement