Achieving Social and Economic Equality by Unifying Business and Ethics: Adam Smith as the Cause of and Cure for the Separation Thesis

Abstract

Adam Smith's famous argument that self-interested decisions will ultimately improve social welfare seems inconsistent with the social and economic inequality characterizing Smith's time and today.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Inequality: An Introduction to the Journal of Management Studies Special Issue

“…An instant best seller, this book galvanized the moral outrage that would motivate and sustain the Civil War (Lowance et al, ). In his contribution to this volume, Newbert () observes that Adam Smith's publication of The Wealth of Nations plays a similar pivotal role in the creation of modern rationalized notions of inequality. Newbert argues that Smith's failure to properly situate his description of ‘economic man’ in The Wealth of Nations within the broader normative context he outlined in The Theory of Moral Sentiments , contributed to the contemporary assumption that economics and morality are ontologically distinct categories.…”

“…A selective and partial reading of Adam Smith's work might lead you to the erroneous conclusion that Smith admired the wealthy; a holistic reading of his work would clearly demonstrate that he did not. As Newbert () suggests, a partial reading of Smith may have contributed to inequality but a holistic reading of his work will likely help us find the cure. Similarly, as Griffin‐El and Olabisi () show us, a holistic approach to immigration will likely encourage diversity in ethnicity, generatively stimulate entrepreneurship, and help to heal long‐standing divisions in society.…”

Business and Society Research Drawing on Institutionalism: Integrating Normative and Descriptive Research on Values

“…Harris and Freeman (2008, p. 541) argued in favor of value-oriented research because "distinguishing 'business' concerns from 'ethical' concerns is not only an unfruitful and meaningless task, it is also an impossible endeavor." Several other scholars have similarly pointed out that separating descriptive and normative matters is actually impossible (Freeman, 1994;Newbert, 2018;Wicks, 1996). Harris and Freeman (2008) built their argument on the idea that values are inseparably intertwined with their institutional context.…”

“…Within this literature, we identify and categorize the research on values according to a spectrum of normative and/or descriptive approaches (including both and neither approaches). Such categorization relates to the long-standing discussion about the nature of the relationship between normative and descriptive theories in B&S researchhow they interrelate in general and how they integrate in particular (Garriga & Melé, 2004;Harris & Freeman, 2008;Newbert, 2018;Swanson, 1999;Wicks, 1996). We look more closely at an integrative approach and argue that pragmatist philosophical thinking in the tradition of John Dewey and institutionalism in the tradition of Philip Selznick can both serve as possible theoretical avenues to advancing integrative research.…”

Re-imagining the Future of Happiness at the Workplace

“…Newbert (2018) points out that Adam Smith held a complex vision of commerce, and he believed that firms possess a social character to which they are responsible. The social character of firms implies that they need to replenish the social resources that they draw from.…”