Alexander Reese

Title of Dissertation:
The Ethics of Markets in Modern Society: An Ordonomic Approach at the Intersection of Moral Philosophy and Economics

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ingo Pies
University: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Scholarship: SDW Scholarship
Cohort: 5. Cohort, 2018-2021

• Short Abstract

  “The most fateful change that unfolded during the past three decades was not an increase in greed. It was the expansion of markets, and of market values, into spheres of life where they
  don’t belong” (Sandel, 2012, p. 6). The renaissance of Aristotelean virtue ethics since the late 1950s has brought up an extensive philosophical literature criticizing that markets, although
  tremendously beneficial in producing good for most people, impose a threat to the moral life of citizens. It is concluded that we need moral limits to markets.

  What should be the moral limits and what are the moral qualities of markets? How we respond to this question shapes the design of markets.

  In my doctoral research, I look into a variety of repugnant market transactions, from “price gouging” in the aftermath of natural disasters to kidney markets. Taking a deep look at the
  virtue-ethical market critique, I develop (counter-)arguments that can be justified both from economic and philosophical considerations.

  The overall aim of my research is to facilitate mutual understanding between the disciplines of economics and philosophy and by that to improve the public discourse about the morality
  of markets.

  Sandel, M. J. (2012). What money can't buy. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

• PhD Related Publications

  • Reese, A. and Pies, I. (2021). What About “Price Gouging" By Employees, Business Ethics Journal Review, 9(3), pp. 14–20. doi: 12747/j1i03.
  • Gombert, A., Kirner, B., Ng, R., Reese, A. P., & Pies, I. (2020). EDEKA & WWF—moral commitments in a joint sustainability partnership between a business form and a civil society organization. The Case Center. https://www.thecasecentre.org/main/products/view?id=168978