ABSTRACT
This chapter examines ethical approaches to markets in further detail. It looks at the ethics of trading as treated in scholarly writings going back to ancient Greek philosophy. Aristotle said little about the derivation of just prices, which seem to have been social norms within an organised trading environment. Markets were the physical and social location where traders could come together on neutral ground and equal terms to reach trading agreements with just prices. Trade organisations aimed to discourage unethical trading. In neoclassical theory, ethical matters are hidden behind a technical vocabulary that plays down any worries about trading. Balanced trading and fair or natural prices will emerge only with continuous ethical oversight, not from laissez-faire. Market-clearing equilibrium should guarantee trading at the right price with accurate information. Competitive trading should reduce malpractices, as does trust among traders. The global trading environment is a mixture of openness and protection designed to fit the interests of big business.
