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Publications

Ethics, Meaning, and Market Society

    Laszlo Zsolnai: Ethics, Meaning, and Market Society. Routledge, New York, 2018. (This book may be available at Routledge) This book explores the underlying causes of the pervasive dominance of ‘unethics’ in contemporary affairs in economics, business, and society. It is argued that the state of unethics is related to the overexpansion of market and market values in all spheres of social life and human activities. A correlate of this development is the emergence of an… Read More »Ethics, Meaning, and Market Society

    Economic Actors and the Ultimate Goal of the Economy

      Laszlo Zsolnai ‘Economic Actors and the Ultimate Goal of the Economy.’ , in Economic Objects and the Objects of Economics, eds. Peter Rona, and Laszlo Zsolnai, Springer, 2018. (This book may be available at: https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319945286) Mainstream economics employs a rather simplified picture of economic systems. Economic actors are grouped into three categories, namely individuals/households, firms, and the state. Among these actors only monetized transactions are considered. The ultimate goal of the economy is defined as maximization of individual income… Read More »Economic Actors and the Ultimate Goal of the Economy

      Economics as a Moral Science

        Peter Rona & Laszlo Zsolnai (Eds.): Economics as a Moral Science. Springer, 2017. (This book may be available at: Springer) The book is an attempt to reclaim economics as a moral science. It argues that ethics is a relevant aspect of all levels of economic activity, from individual and organizational to societal and global. Taking ethical considerations into account is needed in explaining and predicting the behavior of economic agents as well as in evaluating and designing… Read More »Economics as a Moral Science

        Can Big Business Become Sustainable?

          Daniel Strain’s interview with Laszlo Zsolnai „Can big business become sustainable?” Future Earth October 27, 2017 http://futureearth.org/blog/2017-oct-27/can-big-business-become-sustainable

          Is Consumer Capitalism Outdated?

            Walter Moss published an article “Is Consumer Capitalism Outdated?” in Los Angeles based LA Progressive which analyses and connects Occupy Wall Street, Spirituality in Business, E.F. Schumacher’s human scale economics, Steve Jobs’ legacy and Laszlo Zsolnai’s work on Buddhist Economics. He argues that perhaps the best we can do in our present period of malaise is to seek the truth and wisely attempt to bring our lives and societies more in keeping with it.

            European SPES 2015-2017

              The presentation summarizes the works and activities of the European SPES Institute in 2015-2017. It covers conferences, workshop and publications as well as future projects. European SPES 2015-2017

              Business for the Greater Good: GNH Rating for Enterprises

                A paper on “Business for the Greater Good: GNH Rating for Enterprises” by Laszlo Zsolnai and Zoltan Valcsicsak was presented at the 7th International Conference on Gross National Happiness in November 7-9, 2017 in Thimpu, Bhutan. The authors argued that Gross National Happiness (GNH) provides an alternative framework that can help enterprises to develop broader, more inclusive business models that aim to serve the greater good of society. The four pillars of GNH may be… Read More »Business for the Greater Good: GNH Rating for Enterprises

                Sustainable Business Models

                  Laszlo Zsolnai was lecturing on  “New Business Models for Future Earth” in a kick-off seminar at the NHH Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen on March 14, 2017.  It was the start of a 2 year research program on Sustainable Business Models in which ESADE Business School Barcelona, Copenhagen Business School and Corvinus University collaborate with NHH. Sustainable Business Models  

                  Issues and Themes in Moral Economics

                    Laszlo Zsolnai ‘Issues and Themes in Moral Economics.’ , in Economics as a Moral Science, eds. Peter Rona, and Laszlo Zsolnai, Springer, 2017. (This book may be available at: Springer) This paper summarizes the main issues and themes in the development of moral economics. Zamagni suggests that we can harness market interactions by re-defining the market in a non-individualistic way, as a network of mutually beneficial relations, along the lines suggested by the civil economy paradigm. Bouckaert underlines that… Read More »Issues and Themes in Moral Economics

                    Economic Rationality versus Human Reason

                      Laszlo Zsolnai ‘Economic Rationality versus Human Reason .’ , in Economics as a Moral Science, eds. Peter Rona, and Laszlo Zsolnai, Springer, 2017. (This book may be available at: Springer) First the paper analyses the rationality assumptions of mainstream economics and shows that they are empirically misleading and normatively inadequate. It argues that the world ruled by self-interest based rationality of economic actors leads to ’unreason’ from a wider ecological and human perspective. The paper illuminates that human reason… Read More »Economic Rationality versus Human Reason