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UNIVERSITY OF PERPETUAL HELP SYSTEM LAGUNA

Graduate School of Business


Sto. Nino, Binan City, Laguna

MORAL LIMITS OF
WEALTH
JV ABUEL
LPT MBA CPA LLB
Business Philosophy
1st Semester 2018-2019
How much wealth should a
person have?

It is a question of ethics.
Ethical solutions rely on prudent
judgment that takes in to account
both general principles and the
particular characteristics of a
specific situation
Individual Dimensions
How much is enough?
What is necessary for a
reasonable life?

As wealth grows, question of


reasonable limits arises.
Communal in (2) senses
1. Whole community is
dependent for its survival on
the available wealth, question
of distribution and taxation.

2. Concern with use to which it


puts
Locke on Property and the
Limits of Wealth

Political
Social
Economics
Political
Aimed at undermining claims
of the legitimacy of the
absolute rule of Kings.

Limited monarchy, Limited


government
Social
Promotes understanding of
individuals in contrast to natural
communities

Changed relationship between


husband & wives, parents &
children
Economics
Strengthen private property,

Open the prospect of unlimited


economic growth
Locke’s Argument is both
Theological and Philosophical

How can something (the earth


and its fruits) that is given to all
humanity & therefore owned in
common become the personal
property of one person?
The determinant of ownership is
the labour that one puts into
hunting, gathering or planting.

Land that has been cultivated


yield’s a hundred times the
product of wasteland, the
cultivator has increased the
general wealth of all
Natural limit to human
acquisition

Used them before it spoiled

To fence more land that


actually one could cultivate
What changes the situation?

The invention of MONEY

Useless yet imperishable metal is


given value and is able to be used
in exchange.

The GROUND FOR MORAL LIMITS


TO WEALTH are gone.
Disproportionate and unequal
wealth is given moral
justification on the basis or
‘tacit & voluntary consent’
given by all to the valuation of
coin.
1.Lack of limit on wealth applies
to land, ownership now regulated
by positive law

2. Ability of human industry to


multiply wealth

3. Exploitable & natural resources


would ever run out
The moral landscape of Locke
paints is very much the one that
underlies our economy today.

It shows enormous confidence in


industry and our ability to
generate wealth. The economic
assumptions maintain with Locke
that resources on earth are
UNLIMITED (doubtful).
Today, we do not put limits,
moral or otherwise, on the
private property or wealth of
individuals or corporations.
Aristotle on Property and the
Limits of Wealth
It is the Constitution and Laws
that determine how property
and wealth are distributed.

The challenge is to write good


laws so that the city does well
and all the citizens live well.
Book 1 of the Politics
Economic consequences &
necessities

Book 2 of the Politics


Theoretical treatment of what
should be held in common, &
what should be held privately.
1st Definition
“those goods a store of which
is both necessary for life &
useful for partnership in a city
or a household.

2nd Definition
“ as a given amount of money”
The issue of sustenance &
possessions enable human
beings to feed, clothe and
house themselves & to move
around & interact with others.
It has limits. One only needs
as much as one can use
effectively & well
Commerce & Invention of Money

The strangeness of storing money,


which apart from law “is worth nothing
& is not useful with a view to any of the
necessary things.

The end of commerce is the generation


of money-wealth itself rather than the
exchange of goods, money generation
imposes no limits.
This kind of life, is about
bodily gratification & excess,
and not about the necessary
things of life.
Book 2 “ Common or Not”
It is evident then, that it is
better for possessions to be
private, but to make them
common in use. That (citizens)
become such [as to use them
in common] – this is the task
peculiar to the legislator.
People take pleasure in relation to
the things they call their own, that
pleasure itself is good and natural,
& that wealth makes it possible to
be generous to others is also good
and builds the community.
Downside is some people may
become greedy & selfish, may lead
to depravity
Virtue
Aristotle solution to the problem
raised by wealth & its potential
unlimitedness.

Standard of right and moral


excellence
Liberality
The virtue of contentedly giving
money or gifts to the right people
for good purpose. Its contraries
are prodigality.

Liberal people are easy to do


business with because they are
indifferent to money, not
acquisitive nor retentive of money.
Magnificence or Philathropy
For those who have significant
wealth. A sort of connoisseur, has
an eye for fitness, can spend large
sums of money with good taste;
so his outlay will be large, and
appropriate.

Contraries are vulgarity &


pettiness
Conclusion
Issue of Distributive Justice

Not only is wrong done, but the


conditions readily lead to
discontent, civil strife and even
revolution. Wealthy are called to
liberality and philanthropy.
Aristotelian
Taxation system, redistribute
wealth, limit consumption,
provide public utilities &
encourage philanthropy,
punish vices, penalize
excessive consumption & limit
accumulation of wealth.
Aristotle calls for high level of
moral consciousness. A moral
limit on wealth is not the
outcome of economic calculus
but rather a consequence of
human beings living virtuously
& choosing wisely.

Education & the laws should


encourage.
Conclusion: Locke imagines the
possibility of unlimited wealth
riding on the unlimited
exploitation of resources & labor.
We have been successful in
generating wealth, but we are
beginning to live with some of the
consequences of Locke’s
imagining as we face issues such
as climate change & the depletion
of natural resources.
It is hard to argue that we have
used our wealth well, and the
Global Financial Crisis has shown
the cost of vice to the well-being
of the global community.
World Top Philanthropist
(2015)
20. Dietmar Hopp, CEO of SAP
Lifetime Donations $1.0B
Net Worth $ 6.30B

19. Pierre Omidyar –Co-founder


eBay
Lifetime Donations $1.0B
Networth $ 6.20B
18. Michael Dell –CEO Dell
Computer
Lifetime Donations $1.1B
Net Worth $ 18.90B

17. James Simons – Renaissance


Investments
Lifetime Donations $1.2B
Net Worth $ 12.3B
16. Ted Turner –CEO Turner
Broadcasting
Lifetime Donations $ 1.2B
Net Worth $ 2.1B

15. Jon Huntsman Sr-Founder


Huntsman
Lifetime Donations $1.2B
Net Worth $940 million
14. Li Ka Shing –Founder Li Ka
Foundation
Lifetime Donations $1.4B
Net Worth $ 26.6B

13. Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook


Lifetime Donations $1.6B
Net Worth $40.7B
12. Paul Allen- Microsoft
Lifetime Donations $2.0B
Net Worth $17.3 B

11. Michael Bloomberg-Bloomberg


Foundation
Lifetime Donations $3B
Net Worth $37.7B
10.George Kaiser-BOK Financial
Lifetime Donations $3.3B
Net Worth $9.3 B

9. Eli Broad – Broad Foundation


Lifetime Donations $3.3B
Net Worth $ 7.3B
8. Carlo Slim Helu-Grupo Carso
Lifetime Donations -$ 4B
Net Worth $27.3B

7. Gordon Moore – Intel


Lifetime Donation $5B
Net Worth $6.5B

6. Sulaiman Bin Abdul Aziz


Lifetime Donation $5.7B
Net Worth $590M
5. Charles Francis Feeney-Feeney
Foundation
Lifetime Donation $6.3B
Net Worth $1.5M (420,000%)

4. Azim Premji – Wipro


Lifetime Donation $8B
Net Worth $15.9B

3. George Soros – Soros Fund


Management
Lifetime Donations $8B
Net Worth $24.4B
2. Warren Buffet – Berkshire
Hathaway Investments
Lifetime Donations $ 21.5B
Net Worth $61B
1. Bill Gates – Microsoft
Lifetime Donations $27B
Net Worth $ 84.2B
UNIVERSITY OF PERPETUAL HELP SYSTEM LAGUNA
Graduate School of Business
Sto. Nino, Binan City, Laguna

ETHICAL ISSUES OF
BHAGAVAD GITA
(Songs of God)
JV ABUEL
LPT MBA CPA LLB
Business Philosophy
1st Semester 2018-2019
The Bhagavad-Gita is one of the
celebrated sacred works of
Hindus. It consists of the spiritual
teaching of Lord Krisna to Arjuna
and thus acquires the name
'Bhagavad-Gita which means 'the
songs of the Lord'. ... The ethical
teaching of the Gita decisively
molded the moral consciousness
of Hindus over the ages.

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