ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at that communitarianism can generate reasonable criteria which a free-market system comprehensively fails to meet. Communitarianism is often associated with agnosticism over economic issues. The definition which will be used here is that community consists of group of people who intersubjectively share identity-forming narratives. The capitalist candidature for the intersubjective criterion is that whilst there is no immediate concern for others, everyone is looking out for themselves so that, overall, the whole community is catered for. The intersubjective criterion is measure of how market philosophy respects the manner in which we are socially constructed in relation to our fellow community members. The ethical criterion serves as measure of extent to which market ideology and practices allow or encourage the sort of reflection and examination to occur. The workings of free-markets prevent genuine ethical debate by fragmenting our collective experience, and instilling a sense of self-interest which places ethical decision making in competition with our potential income.
