BOOK REVIEWS
JOHN RAWLS: JUSTICE AS FAIRNESS – A RESTATEMENT
Like Sharpe, Rawls developed his ideas consequentialist and deontological.
in the 1960s (A Theory of Justice was Consequentialist arguments say ‘do good
published in 1971) but he wanted to and you will be rewarded’ – promises of
publish a shorter, revised edition of his heaven, pocket money, avoidance of a
oeuvre in later life. This is the result. thrashing or in our case, a stainless
As in Sharpe’s case, it is just over 200 reputation which can help us amass even
pages long. greater riches. Ask people in our
It is important that markets are fair – industry why you should follow a code
markets for securities in our case, but it of ethics and the answers are often
could just as well be for fi sh. Fair consequentialist. ‘In the long run, you
markets bring enormous benefi ts, but will benefi t.’ This cannot be the correct
they are forms of social cooperation and answer. Old people for example do not
that requires participants to be more have a ‘long run’. Are they free therefore
than rational wealth maximizers: they to cheat? More importantly, the
must also be reasonable. Rawls makes argument explicitly subsumes ethics
the distinction clear and argues why this under the banner of self-interest. ‘You
must be the case. His theory concerns will benefi t’ – not ‘We shall all benefi t’.
the nature of justice, and he is classifi ed If ethics is not simply a sub-division of
as a political philosopher, but his ideas rational utility maximisation, then what
have relevance for questions about the is it? Opposing consequentialism are
organisation of economic activity in a deontological arguments. Some actions
“As ASIPs and CFAs
developed society. are wrong in themselves; some forms of
How do you answer the CFA cooperation are good in themselves – not
we follow a code of
candidate who wants to know why she good because they engender something
should follow a code of ethics? Where else that is even better. Rawls’ lifetime
ethics that requires
even do you start? In a globalised world, work is about the limits of rational
religion is almost certainly a path strewn self-interest. Neither Gintis and his
us to set aside
with diffi culties. Science appears to help co-authors, nor McLean refers to Rawls’
– Gintis’ book looks fascinating. But books, although his preceded theirs.
pure self-interest
teachers of logic tell us that you can never That’s a pity; all three are addressing the
derive an ‘ought’ statement from an ‘is’ same diffi cult questions.
at times”
statement, and science is the domain of The CFA Society and the CFA
‘is’. Richard Dawkins, please note. Institute promote an ethics code. We
I believe that to answer the candidate, need to think clearly about why anybody
we must turn to philosophers like Rawls. should pay attention. This book helps us
Moral arguments can be divided into do that.
ONE TO NOTE
MORAL SENTIMENTS AND MATERIAL INTERESTS: THE
FOUNDATIONS OF COOPERATION IN ECONOMIC LIFE
EDITED BY HERBERT GINTIS, SAMUEL BOWLES, ROBERT T BOYD
AND ERNST FEHR
I have only just discovered the (sic) and policy analysis”. Its opening
existence of Moral Sentiments and sentence reads “Smith’s The Wealth of
Material Interests edited by Herbert Nations advocates market competition
Gintis and others. Daniel Kahneman, as the key to prosperity”. Its fourth
no less, describes it as an “exhilarating sentence reads “This view overlooks
mix of game theory, evolutionary Smith’s second and equally important
biology, experimental economics, contribution, The Theory of Moral
cultural anthropology, grammatology Sentiments.”
54 WINTER 2008/09
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