The Good Market?

"Moral Views of Market Society"

The above links to a very interesting paper (actually, only read the first half, after that it became too sociological) that provides a balanced overview of three basic approaches to determining the moral consequences and identity of markets.

Obviously, I would tend toward a certain perspective (guess!), but I might add that I find that perspective most compelling in part as it would seem to necessitate the fewest assumptions or argumentation regarding what is a desirable and what isn't. Essentially, to let people decide for themselves.

I am no anarchist, so let me explain. I believe that people are best positioned to define what their "goods" are (and I mean that in the ethical sense) and that the free market system is, ideally, best suited to allowing people the ability to pursue their ends.

A Marxist critique might be that free market systems alienate people from the fruits of their labor by dehumanizing the inherently personal production and transaction process. One can reasonably argue this (obviously it isn't necessary for me to legitimize Marx). However, my argument is that such a perspective necessarily burdens itself with deeper assumptions that require difficult justification.

That there exists a meaning in labor beyond the exchange of time for goods is not self-evident. The fact that there exists a wage and a product which are exchanged is all the justification necessary for the conclusion (perhaps incomplete) that the laborer devoted his or her time for a reasonable (as perceived by the laborer) compensation.