The Same River Twice: A Philosophy Podcast: Recent Episodes
Daniel Schwartz
This podcast is for the students in my Business Ethics and philosophy classes at The American University in Bulgaria. It may include my thoughts on some key takeaways from class discussions, ideas that we didn't have time to explore during class, responses to your philosophical questions, and more.
Profits are under attack. This year, The DOJ has attempted to block a number of mergers, and it is suing Amazon and Google. Why? Because their businesses are so successful, and customersvalue what they offer so highly, that they are willing to pay more for their products. There are calls for businesses to sacrifice some of their profits for the good of their employees and customers.
For this first episode, I interviewed Robert White, a professor and Dean at the American University in Bulgaria. He is the author of The Moral Case for Profit Maximization and taught business ethics for a number of years. And he explains why we should celebrate businesses which pursue profit.
Topics include:
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What students should learn in a business ethics course
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What profit is and why it’s good to pursue it
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Why most businesses are ethical
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The injustice of attacks on Apple, Uber, and other tech giants
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Whether a business should sell harmful products
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The role of virtue in business
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Why corporate social responsibility undermines business ethics
Do employers have an obligation to provide meaningful work?
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I discuss a new tool for annotating course readings called perusall.
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