A Natural Law Framework for Understanding Action, Virtue, and the Pursuit of Goods

Abstract

This discussion paper explores a natural law framework for that is an alternative to the rational choice theory of action and utilitarian moral philosophy that dominates the management literature. It draws on the new natural law theory developed by philosophers John Finnis, Germain Grisez and others over the last thirty years. In this framework, action is oriented to seven fundamental goods, moderated by and moderating stocks of virtue. Moral judgements are made on the basis of impacts of action on fundamental goods, and the formal model is a tool for such judgements. Any discussion of markets must engage economists if it is to have an impact on public attitudes and public policy. We need a theoretical framework, and any proposed framework needs to be articulated as a formal model if it is to have any chance of engaging economists and management scholars, especially if the framework departs from rational choice theory of action combined with a preference satisfaction view of welfare. The alterative natural law framework allows consideration of virtues and a richer notion of goods, as well as being tractable and connecting with the existing powerful analytical tools of contemporary economics and management.