Ali Velshi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Ali Velshi

This speech was delivered yesterday at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY.

Are the markets moral? Should we expect them to be? Moral according to whom? And if they’re not moral, are they immoral? Amoral? Or value-neutral?

The bigger the questions, the more likely we are to be heading into some abstract—albeit very interesting—realms. But I work in cable TV and, as you know, we have a propensity for reality, so lets stick with that.

Let’s rather discuss the interaction of markets and society, and how that interaction both supports and offends our sense of morality. Once we understand the way markets and morality influence one another, we can try to develop strategies to help the markets promote the values we hold dear, and change practices that are inconsistent with our beliefs.

Now the first pitfall here is defining morality. Philosophers tell us “morality” describes the codes of conduct put forward by a society. More broadly, it can refer to a system of conduct to which all rational persons, regardless of culture, would subscribe.

So, when we talk about morality, we’re generally referring to the ethical glue that holds society together. Morality deals with our sense of fairness and our sense of responsibility to others. Implicit in morality is the idea that there are right ways—and, by contrast, wrong ways—to act.

Now when I talk about markets, I’m not referring to stock markets, although they do fall within my definition. I’m referring to the myriad institutional structures human beings have established to facilitate commerce. For purposes of this discussion, a market is any structure under which commerce takes place: the purchase of land, stocks, airline tickets, vegetables, sporting events, whatever it may be. In my view, these structures begin as neither moral nor immoral. They are as indifferent as water. Markets are meant simply to be vehicles for finding the most efficient way to balance supply and demand.

The freer the market, the less encumbered by regulation, and the more efficient it should be. But from a social standpoint, unfettered markets can lead to situations most of us would consider immoral: vast populations of have-nots, a ruined environment, plutocracies and other dystopian scenarios.

Read More Is it possible to have morality in a free market? – Quartz.