Lecture: Ethics and Economics of Market Legitimacy - Details

Lecture: Ethics and Economics of Market Legitimacy - Details

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General information

Course name Lecture: Ethics and Economics of Market Legitimacy
Semester WiSe 2025/26
Current number of participants 10
maximum number of participants 20
Home institute VWL, insb. Wirtschaftsethik
Courses type Lecture in category Offizielle Lehrveranstaltungen
Preliminary discussion Wednesday, 15.10.2025 10:00 - 12:00, Room: Raum 222 (Raum 57) [WiWi]
Next date Friday, 16.01.2026 14:00 - 22:00, Room: Raum 201 (ehemals 47) [WiWi]
Participants Due to the interactive nature of the colloquium, the number of participants is limited to 20 students. The selection procedure is managed in Stud.Ip.
The examination board and faculty council have decided on the following priority list for the allocation of the 20 colloquium places:
1. M.Sc. HRM/M.Sc. BWL specialization Organizational Behavior and Ethics + M.Sc. Economics specialization Economic Policy
2. B.Sc. VWL + B.Sc. BusEco
3. other courses admitted for the module.
You will be informed about the results of the draw procedure by 09.10.2025 at the latest.

Aufgrund des interaktiven Charakters des Kolloquiums ist die Teilnehmeranzahl auf 20 Studierende begrenzt. Das Auswahlverfahren wird in Stud.Ip geführt.
Prüfungsausschuss und Fakultätsrat haben für die Vergabe der 20 Kolloquiumsplätze folgende Prioritätenliste beschlossen:
1. M.Sc. HRM/M.Sc. BWL mit Vertiefung Organizational Behavior and Ethics + M.Sc. Economics mit Vertiefungsrichtung Economic Policy
2. B.Sc. VWL + B.Sc. BusEco
3. andere Studiengänge, die für das Modul zugelassen sind.
Über das Ergebnisse des Losverfahrens werden Sie spätestens am 09.10.2025 informiert.
Learning organisation During the semester, we will provide
a) An introductory presentation with details of the colloquium schedule, topics, and literature.
b) Relevant literature.
Lehrsprache(n) Englisch
SWS 2

Module assignments

Comment/Description

In recent years, prominent academics like Elizabeth Anderson, Debra Satz or Michael Sandel have criticized the tendency of markets to commodify human relations. They argue that some things should not be for sale. They emphasize what money can’t buy. They call for limiting the extent of the market in modern society. In doing so, they argue from the vantage point of (an-cient, Aristotelian) virtue ethics. This has prompted critical reactions, both from economists and philosophers. Recently, Jason Brennan and Peter Jaworski devoted a whole book to repudiating and countering the numerous arguments by virtue ethicists. Interestingly, some economists like Jeff Clark und Dwight Lee as well as Luigino Bruni and Robert Sugden call for regarding the market as a virtuous zone, thus re-directing (and even correcting) traditional approaches to virtue ethics. – This course introduces the debate and examines the political relevance of the topic: Should kidneys be for sale? Should we legalize drugs? Should prostitution be prohibited? Should we restrict suicide assistance to not-for-profit organizations? Should we outlaw surrogate moth-erhood?


Literature:

Brennan, Jason und Peter M. Jaworski (2016): Markets Without Limits. Moral Virtues and Commercial Interests, New York und Abingdon: Taylor & Francis

Bruni, Luigino und Robert Sugden (2013): Reclaiming Virtue Ethics for Economics, in: Journal of Economic Perspectives 27(4), pp. 141–164.

Clark, Jeff R. und Dwight R. Lee (2011): Markets and Morality, in: Cato Journal 31(1), pp. 1–25.

Sandel, Michael (2009): Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?, Farrar, Strauß and Giroux, New York, Chapter 1: Doing the Right Thing, pp. 3-30.

Sandel, Michael (2013): Market Reasoning as Moral Reasoning: Why Economists Should Re-engage with Political Philosophy, in: Journal of Economic Perspectives 27(4), pp. 121-140.

Admission settings

The course is part of admission "Beschränkte Teilnehmendenanzahl: Ethics and Economics of Market Legitimacy".
The following rules apply for the admission:
  • A defined number of seats will be assigned to these courses.
    The seats in the affected courses have been assigned at 09.10.2025 on 23:59. Additional seats may be available via a waiting list.
  • The enrolment is possible from 14.07.2025, 00:00 to 08.10.2025, 23:59.