Kantian Moral Philosophy, Universality, and Business Legitimacy

Abstract

In this chapter business legitimacy is understood as a minimum notion of moral rightness in business. It is argued that from the standpoint of a Kantian moral theory, it can never be justified to pursue profit maximization irrespective of the rights of the affected people. Sustainably functioning national economies are of special importance for the protection of the rights of people. According to Kantian moral theory, the universal rights of persons must be effectively protected by territorially limited states. This makes all business strategies and models illegitimate which endanger the sustainable functioning of a national economy or prevents or retards its development. In order to provide the necessary normative background for these and other determinations of business legitimacy and illegitimacy, this chapter first outlines Kant’s moral theory in some detail. It is shown that Kant develops the understanding of a moral norm in contrast to the basic characteristics of conditional norms. The unconditional norms of morality are based on the absolute value of persons which derives from their ability to act for ends different from the end of their own happiness. While Kant’s moral theory is dignity-based, Kantian moral theories are usually rights-based. They interpret the dignity of persons mainly in terms of their rights. A market economy is both relevant for the protection of the moral rights of persons and involves certain dangers to them. A guiding question of the chapter is how this tension should be dealt with from the perspective of Kantian moral theory.