The Moral Conditions of Economic Efficiency

Walter J. Schultz illustrates the deficiencies of theories that purport to show that markets alone can provide the basis for efficiency. He argues that markets are not moral-free zones, and that achieving the economic common good does indeed require morality. He demonstrates that efficient outcomes of market interaction cannot be achieved without moral normative constraints and then goes on to specify a set of normative conditions that make these positive outcomes possible.

• Schultz rigorously proves that Adam Smith's ideas regarding the relationship between morality and markets are mistaken
• Schultz shows that achieving and sustaining an economically efficient economy requires a moral right to welfare
• The book transcends interminable ethical debates regarding markets and morality by its reliance on an account of morality as a social practice