ETHICS AND BUSINESS ETHICS, AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS. ABOUT AXIOLOGY AND BUSINESS: HISTORY OF SLAVERY IS LIKE A CIRCLE

The papers acquaints the readers with problems of ethics and business ethics in context of the financial crisis. The article is to underline a role of ethics in business. An ethical approach is incredibly important in the economy and the business activity. There is no good economy and market without axiology in social order. There is no economy and economic activities without much deeper foundations based on moral universal values such as honesty or transparency or dignity. We should go back to papal teaching and classics of moral philosophy. I believe that we can create the real axiology including such the values. The global financial crisis is rather an axiological crisis than strictly economic because the foundations and real reasons of the financial crisis have strictly moral character. Greed, profit, fraud, misinformation, new morality of homo economicus created the new world of consumers and the structurally and institutionally hermetic world of the markets and the corporations. It is a sad but more realistic view of the corporations and economy. History of slavery is like a circle: free people became stupid consumers; free people working in corporations became its cynical or ordinary slaves, the honest became the dishonest; free people became dishonest businessmen and businesswomen, without heart, mercy and reason. The system we live is rotten (politics, law, business, media, consumerism ideology), requiring changes. We should start with moral education to make ordinary people, the citizens, who create the commonwealth, really more responsible, competent and free in choices.