10 research outputs found
âWe ought to eat in order to work, not vice versaâ: MacIntyre, practices, and the best work for humankind.
This paper draws a distinction between âright MacIntyreansâ who are relatively optimistic that MacIntyreâs vision of ethics can be realised in capitalist society, and âleft MacIntyreansâ who are sceptical about this possibility, and aims to show that the âleft MacIntyreanâ position is a promising perspective available to business ethicists. It does so by arguing for a distinction between âcommunity-focusedâ practices and âexcellence-focusedâ practices. The latter concept fulfils the promise of practices to provide us with an understanding of the best work for humankind and highlights the affinities between MacIntyreâs concept of a practice and Marxâs conception of good work as free, creative activity. The paper concludes with a suggestion that we reflect on the best forms of work so that we can strive to ensure the very best activities, those most consonant with our flourishing, one day become available to all
Moral education at work: on the scope of MacIntyreâs concept of a practice
This paper seeks to show how MacIntyreâs concept of a practice can survive a series of âscope problemsâ which threaten to render the concept inapplicable to business ethics. I begin by outlining MacIntyreâs concept of a practice before arguing that, despite an asymmetry between productive and non-productive practices, the elasticity of the concept of a practice allows us to accommodate productive and profitable activities. This elasticity of practices allows us to sidestep the problem of adjudicating between practitioners and non-practitioners as well as the problem of generic activities. I conclude by suggesting that the contemporary tendency to regard work as an object of consumption, rather than undermining MacIntyreâs account of practices, serves to demonstrate the potential breadth of its applicability