Abstract
In this chapter we will reinterpret Mises’ theory of human action within the framework of Aristotelian ethics. Aristotelian ethical approach centers on the acting person. His ethics is structured in a system of goods, norms, and virtues that is configured by means of individual action in the institutions of a particular culture.
We would like to launch the thesis that market economy is open to virtuous activity so far as it increases the capabilities and possibilities of individual action, not only the productive and consumption opportunities of persons.
Against the idea that market economy is something greedy and immoral, we defend the idea that market economy based on firms has a very positive moral content: the possibility of excellence of human action. Market economy is the means to economic development and prosperity. Firms based on people acting together, sharing the culture of the organization, toward virtue-based ethics, create and distribute most of the economy’s wealth, innovate, trade, and raise living standards.
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Aranzadi, J. (2017). The Essence of the Austrian School Approach: The Ethical Structure of Human Action. In: Sison, A., Beabout, G., Ferrero, I. (eds) Handbook of Virtue Ethics in Business and Management. International Handbooks in Business Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6510-8_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6510-8_17
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