The contemporary Ethics of Property Price: Conclusions from the history of moral thought on property and price

Abstract

Recent debate on dummy auction bidding tends to be grounded in ethical terms. This paper surveys the various moral theories that have been applied to pricing and property in the Western tradition as well as insights from non-Western cultures. Property price is linked to both the institution of property and concepts of ethical commerce. In this way ethical pricing stands at the midpoint of two central economic institutions. Acceptable price is found vary culturally, as well as theoretically. Some theorists tend to be offering as much a defence of their culture’s behaviour as a freestanding defensible argument. It is possible that some cultures live more in harmony with their ethical positions than others, giving their apologetic theoreticians a considerably easier task. Conclusions from this study go beyond domestic issues of auction pricing to include suggestion that international property may fall foul of cultural difference if the latter is not taken into account when considering price and terms of transfer. Suggestions are also made regarding possible implications from ethical pricing for the globalisation process.