Study: Do markets erode moral values?

[cprise]

EDIT

Prof. Dr. Armin Falk from the University of Bonn and Prof. Dr. Nora Szech from the University of Bamberg, both economists, have shown in an experiment that markets erode moral concerns. In comparison to non-market decisions, moral standards are significantly lower if people participate in markets.

In markets, people ignore their individual moral standards

"Our results show that market participants violate their own moral standards," says Prof. Falk. In a number of different experiments, several hundred subjects were confronted with the moral decision between receiving a monetary amount and killing a mouse versus saving the life of a mouse and foregoing the monetary amount. "It is important to understand what role markets and other institutions play in moral decision making. This is a question economists have to deal with," says Prof. Szech.

EDIT

"If I don't buy or sell, someone else will."

In addition, in markets with many buyers and sellers, subjects may justify their behavior by stressing that their impact on outcomes is negligible. "This logic is a general characteristic of markets," says Prof. Falk. Excuses or justifications appeal to the saying, "If I don't buy or sell now, someone else will." For morally neutral goods, however, such effects are of minor importance. Nora Szech explains: "For goods without moral relevance, differences in decisions between the individual and the market conditions are small. The reason is simply that in such cases the need to share guilt or excuse behavior is absent."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130510124501.htm

The Magic Hand is biased against conscience. I think this cuts to the heart of why, in some eras and places, the influence of commercial interests on public affairs evoked great unease, indignation and censure--a virtual taboo that has been eradicated in today's neoliberal mindset by torrents of advertising and other corporate propaganda.

[BlueJazz]

1. The post may be true for people who are already greedy or/and heartless and ...

..uncaring. Most..if not all Liberals don't fit that description, in my not so humble opinion.

[cprise]

2. I beg to disagree. The study did not eschew Liberals.

At least not that I could tell from the article.

IMO what you get when Liberals accept a monetized environment are a lot of personal decisions that increasingly add up to callous, plutocratic trends. They come to mistrust any offered solutions that do not revolve around private banks.

[BlueJazz]

3. What you say is true. I was eating a home-cooked delicious hamburger while reading..

..the post. I don't have to tell you where my mind was....