ABSTRACT
The application of ethics to the business context often takes one of two approaches. One approach emphasizes studying cases without any extensive theoretical background while the other emphasizes the application of abstract ethical theories embodying universal principles to specific cases. Classical American pragmatism offers a unique philosophical framework that provides a new grounding for moral pluralism and a new understanding of moral reasoning. Pragmatism focuses on a relational understanding of humans, communities, and corporations alike, thereby moving beyond the long tradition of atomic individualism which ultimately places the individual and the group in an irreconcilable conflict, with all the moral pitfalls this involves. The pragmatic understanding of self and community has implications for corporate organizations and the way change and pluralism are incorporated. The corporation is often understood, particularly in classical economic theory, as a voluntary organization in which people band together because of economic self-interest, a view again based on the understanding of individuals as atomic units.
