TARP Funding And Capitalism Case Study

TARP Funding and Capitalism True capitalism doesn’t really exist in practice, as is the case with most theories and ideologies. Over time, these concepts, like capitalism, are warped to fit the needs of the person/group. In this case, the United States professes to follow the teachings of capitalism, but certain parts of the way the country is run seem to be contradictory to capitalism’s ideals. To investigate, we must delve into what capitalism is, TARP funding, and ethical perspectives on the matters discussed. Capitalism came about when people decided that they were no longer satisfied with working just to survive—they wanted to profit and improve their lifestyle. There are many kinds of capitalism and they all have their own unique aspects, …show more content…
Utilitarians believe that happiness is the most important thing in life, and that whatever creates the most units of happiness is the moral choice. Many Utilitarians are believers in Adam Smith’s teachings, and as such, believe that welfare arrangements should be done away with. I don’t think they would have like the idea of the TARP, and would have instead advocated alternative routes. The rise in poverty would be an issue they would be interested in because it would affect the overall happiness index. One plan that they may suggest would be for the richest to give to the poorest to shorten the income gap. To justify this course of action, they would cite the declining marginal utility of money theory which means, “…successive additions to one’s income produce, on average, less happiness or welfare than did earlier additions…” (Business Ethics, 89). Because they believe happiness to be the most important thing, Utilitarians would endorse this method of dealing with the financial crisis because it maximizes the overall happiness of the population. They would reason that giving some of their money to the poorer would have very little effect on the rich while greatly increasing the happiness of those in poverty. It is always difficult when one mixes ethics and money. Different ethical philosophies would side with different sides of the argument due their individual beliefs. This paper has briefly looked at what capitalism is, the teachings of Adam Smith, and Utilitarianism in relation to the TARP. Was Bush’s decision to sign off on TARP the correct one? Some might say yes, some might say no. It all depends on what their personal ethical and financial beliefs are. Everyone must come to their own