Rothbard and Hoppe’s justifications of libertarianism: A critique

Murray N. Rothbard and Hans-Hermann Hoppe build their libertarian theory of justice on two axioms concerning self-ownership and homesteading, which are bolstered by two key arguments: reductio ad absurdum and performative contradiction. Each of these arguments is designed to demonstrate that libertarianism is the only theory of justice that can be justified. If either of these arguments were valid, it would prove the libertarian claim that the state is an unjust political arrangement. Giving due weight to the importance of the libertarian anarchist claim, this article exposes and criticizes the arguments that substantiate it

Post hoc, ergo propter hoc : methodological limits of performance-oriented studies in CSR

This paper enquires into the possibility of establishing a causal link between social performance (SP) and financial performance (FP) in corporate social responsibility (CSR). It shows that this endeavour is limited by several biasing factors (such as time horizons, sample choices and the tools chosen to measure SP and FP) and faces the logical fallacy post hoc ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this), which indicates that a sequence of events does not necessarily establish a causal link. The paper contributes to the methodological literature in CSR currently focused on empirical tests aiming to discern the linkages between SP and FP, both by emphasising the interest in interpreting and justifying SP and by suggesting a redirection of empirical efforts towards the understanding of entrepreneurial preference for a specific type of SP

A Moral Pluralist Perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility: From Good to Controversial Practices

This study starts from the observation that there are relatively few controversial issues in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Given its strong normative background, CSR is rather an atypical discipline, especially in comparison with moral philosophy or applied ethics. Exploring the mainstream CSR agenda, this situation was echoed by widespread consensus on what was considered to be “good practice”: reducing pollution, shutting down sweatshops, discouraging tax evasion, and so on. However, interpretation of these issues through the lens of moral pluralism unveils latent controversies. The moral appraisal of good practices within CSR depends on key moral concepts (such as harm, responsibility, intention, and consequences), which have various—and often incompatible—interpretations. In a nutshell, this article argues that from a moral pluralist standpoint, all CSR topics are potentially controversial

What is progressive business?

This introductory chapter signposts the rationale, framework and case study contents of the book. Firstly, we offer an overview of the need for new more progressive business models than the mainstream which exists at present, identifying the current challenges facing business in Europe and beyond in its international ramifications. To remedy these challenges, we present our alternative vision of progressive business functioning, whose basic criteria comprise ecological sustainability, respect for future generations, and pro-socialness. Then, synopses of our case examples follow

Pinning down the social license to operate (SLO): The problem of normative complexity

The ‘social license to operate’ (SLO) concept, whilst ubiquitous in industry and academia, to this day, continues to defy clear definition. This ambiguity encourages the proliferation of conflicting claims to such a license and complicates the assessment of their legitimacy. Observing that a dimension of SLO's ambiguity is normative, this paper seeks to explore this normativity aspect further, with a view to discerning the disagreements on what makes an SLO legitimate and what delegitimizes it. The legitimacy gap in SLO discussions is illustrated in light of a case study from the Australian minerals and energy sector and explained in the context of the normative complexity surrounding the SLO construct, which seems to limit the transferability of findings from the growing number of SLO studies. As possible means for addressing this normative complexity the conceptual widening, approximation and standardization of the SLO are proposed in an attempt to overcome the stalemate resulting from competing social license claims and social license interpretations

Les états de la définition wébérienne de l'État

Cet article étudie la définition wébérienne de l\u27État (le monopole de la violence légitime) et s\u27attache à comprendre l\u27usage que la théorie politique pourrait en faire. L\u27article formule d\u27abord deux critères pour évaluer la pertinence d\u27une définition de l\u27État : l\u27exclusivité (la définition de l\u27État circonscrit-elle des agencements étatiques ?), et l\u27exhaustivité (la définition de l\u27État couvre-t-elle la diversité des agencements étatiques ?). Afin de mieux évaluer la pertinence de la définition wébérienne de l\u27État, ses parties constituantes sont ensuite décomposées : le « monopole de la violence » et la « violence légitime ». En fin de compte, l\u27article explique les difficultés de cette définition à satisfaire simultanément les deux critères susmentionnés

Management, Political Philosophy, and Social Justice: Special Theme

This paper introduces the special theme on management and political philosophy, following a call for papers in the journal Philosophy of Management. The scope of this introduction is to emphasize the importance of political philosophy as a subtheme in the discipline of philosophy of management by shedding light on a cornerstone conversation: the role of the state in fostering corporate accountability for social injustice. For doing so, we present the papers invited to this special theme and show how they contribute to this conversation. Inspired by the arguments that the articles in this special theme develop, we also provide further thoughts for the directions that future research should pursue for enriching the discussions in the political philosophy of management. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

A social licence to operate legitimacy test: Enhancing sustainability through contact quality

The social licence to operate is a notoriously ambiguous concept that encompasses a patent normative heterogeneity, making the emergence of a widely accepted standard capable of settling controversies on its legitimate use seem unlikely. To cope with this issue, the article builds a model (adapted from Arnstein’s ladder of public participation) to measure “contact quality,” used here as a proxy for gauging the legitimacy of the social licence to operate. This model is tested on a case study from the minerals and energy sector (Base Titanium Mine in Kenya). Our findings show that a company can move up and down on the legitimacy scale, depending on the contact quality with company stakeholders. The interest of providing a social licence heuristic is to make sense of the theoretical controversies surrounding this concept and to offer also realistic guidance to practitioners searching to understand where a firm sits on the legitimacy scale, to enhance transparency and accountability of its social licence to operate and ultimately improve business practice