The Ethical Economist [link]
by Joseph Stiglitz
Foreign Affairs (Nov./Dec. 2005)
Joseph Stiglitz, University Professor of Economics at Columbia University, former Chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisors and author of Globalization and its Discontents (2002), reviews a major new work by Benjamin Friedman, The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth (knopf 2005). Stiglitz argues that Friedman presents a compelling moral case for growth-oriented economic policies. Stiglitz suggests that the debate "should not be centered on whether one is in favor of growth or against it. The question should be, are there policies that can promote what might be called moral growth - growth that is sustainable, that increases living standards not just today but for future generations as well, and that leads to a more tolerant, open society?" Although focussed on economic policy in the US under George W. Bush, the theory and suggestions are applicaple to any every state trying to find an equilibrium between state social policies and the pressures of globalization.
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