The Ethics of Entrepreneurship: A Millian Approach

Carlo Ludovico Cordasco ()
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Carlo Ludovico Cordasco: Oxford Brookes Business School, Oxford Brookes University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2024, vol. 191, issue 2, No 1, 217-229

Abstract: Abstract What is morally valuable—if anything at all—in entrepreneurship? Existing normative takes can be broadly categorized as belonging to two main views: a backward and a forward-looking approach. The former sees entrepreneurial activity as a permissible emergent product of individuals’ interactions within the boundaries of people’s existing rights; the latter looks at entrepreneurship in the broader context of market processes and emphasizes its role in generating Pareto-improvements in social welfare. In this paper, I suggest that certain instances of entrepreneurship can be intrinsically valuable when they constitute Millian Experiments in Living, that is when entrepreneurial ventures are the expression of an entrepreneur’s conception of the good. Engaging in entrepreneurial activity which reflects one’s conception of the good helps individuals in cultivating their individuality and originality by means of subjecting their normative beliefs to empirical scrutiny, thus allowing one to confirm, revise, or refine them.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Experiments in living; John Stuart Mill (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05489-8

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