Ethics Theory and

Business Practice

6.2 Ethical Relativism – Part TwoFriedrich Nietzsche: Morality And

Power

aims

• to explore Friedrich Nietzsche’s ideas about the relationship between power and morality

• to introduce the idea that personal interests and power agendas might influence our the way we think about business ethics

Friedrich Nietzsche’s (2003/1887) refutation of ethical absolutism

1. masters and slaves2. will to power3. morality as an expression of the interests of

dominant groups

1. masters and slaves

• masters: physically or intellectually superior elites, who tend to occupy dominant roles within society

• slaves: the less-capable and less-privileged masses, who occupy subservient roles

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq-uMIZGETs&list=PLFC0EB75314EE3AE4

2. will to power

• all living things are fundamentally motivated by a desire to assert themselves over everything and everyone around them

• will to power as a prime mover of human activity

• which cannot be deniedwww.youtube.com/watch?v=D7DAt-TKcQo

3. morality: an expression of the interests of dominant groups

• early supremacy of ‘master morality’• recent triumph of ‘slave morality’

Nietzsche’s call for a return to master morality

• not only does slave morality have no absolute legitimacy

• it also constrains gifted elites from achieving the full potential

• and thus inhibits human progress

two insights that Nietzsche’s work offers to business ethics

1. it offers a justification of competitive, meritocratic elitism

www.youtube.com/watch?v=elrnAl6ygeM

2. it encourages us to reflect on why we believe what we do about ethics

key points

• by suggesting that all morality is linked to personal interests, Nietzsche casts doubt on the existence of absolute standards of business ethics

• Nietzsche seems to offer a justification for competitive elitism in business

• he also encourages us to reflect on the influences that may have shaped our attitudes to business ethics

references

• Nietzsche, F. (2003/1887) The Genealogy of Morals. New York: Dover.