Aristotle and business

✍ Scribed by Denis Collins

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 517 KB
• Volume: 6
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0167-4544
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00383749

✦ Synopsis

If one told a philosopher that Aristotle was antibusiness and anti-profit the philosopher would most likely nod his head in agreement. The evidence is obvious, isn't it? Aristotle scorned the practice of retail trade in ancient Greece. He opposed charging interest. Case closed! l I wish to re-open the case. Aristode did reach these conclusions. However, to assume that Aristotle would support these views 2000 years later, as many philosophers seem to assume, requires a massive leap of faith. An even stronger argument can be made to demonstrate that Aristotle would be pro-business and pro-profit. It is my intention to systematize views expressed in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and Politics which could be interpreted in support of business and profits.

Why undergo this process? Aristotle's conclusions toward business and profits has been retranslated over two millenniums to mean that entering business in order to make a profit is equivalent to selling one's soul to the devil. A better understanding of Aristotle's view requires a better understanding of the environment in which he was writing. Once this is done, one can begin to reanalyze Aristotle's thought.