Abstract
This paper speculates upon the reasons for Peter Drucker's ongoing and vigorous denial of the relevance of business ethics. It contemplates whether Drucker consciously, or even perhaps subconsciously, associates the aims of business ethics with the aims of those associated with the Arbeitsfreude movement in Germany prior to the outbreak of the second world war. If this is the case the paper questions whether Drucker's distaste for some of the more notorious outcomes of that movement in Germany are reflected in his hostility to business ethics. Drucker's reflections regarding the social responsibilities of business are discussed, as are the limitations which he imposes upon such corporate social responsibility. Drucker's distinction between societal ethics and individual ethics are also discussed.
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Schwartz, M. Peter Drucker and the Denial of Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics 17, 1685–1692 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006083905827
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006083905827