“I normally don't like these "Dummies" series books, since they tend to be very basic, especially if you know a lot about the topic. But this one I bought because of the author, Norman E. Bowie, whom I believe is one of the best writers on ethics (even though I don't agree with a lot of what he writes on economics and capitalism).
This work is a good overview of the different ethical philosophies, such as utilitarianism, Deontology, virtue ethics, natural rights, and egoism. Since I teach ethics, I found a lot of interesting resources, links, case studies and other facts that I can use.
There's a chapter on accounting and auditing ethics that actually takes on the elephant in the room--the fact that auditors can't be independent if they are being paid by the very companies they are auditing. However, Bowie doesn't see an alternative, but there is: have the stock markets hire the auditors, and abolish the audit monopoly for the CPA profession.
My criticism is the usual: Bowie likes to point out the ethical shortcomings of business, but rarely does he deal with government lapses in ethics. He blames the subprime meltdown on the private sector without ever mentioning the moral hazards created by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He also doesn't seem to understand the role of the price system in a market, which is a glaring hole and leads to many false statements.
That said, it was a worthwhile and interesting read.”
Ron B wrote this review Monday, January 16, 2012.
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