Whether Market Economy has Moral Rationality
The substantial increase of material wealth brought about by market economy in China and the continuous development of western countries under this economic model since the Industrial Revolution show that market economy has advantages that other economic models do not have.If this aspect is introduced into today ’s discussion，a reasonable question will arise，that is，does the economic model with such superiority and vitality really lack moral significance？ It is really very difficult to answer this question，because it ’s neither a simple economic problem nor a simple ethical problem.However，the connotation of this problem determines that scholars on both sides will certainly pay attention to it and discuss it.Therefore，a unified issue has been divided into two perspectives.The response of ethics circles basically stays at the level of moral criticism of market economy itself.So its focus is often on whether economics should stress morality，how to stress morality，and whether morality has made a contribution in the process of market economy operation.How should Chinese economic circles grasp their moral responsibility？ The economic circles pay more attention to how to understand the moral value of market economy itself，how to integrate the knowledge legitimacy and moral legitimacy of economics reasonably，and so on.
The question of “whether market economy has moral rationality” can be traced back to the so-called “Adam Smith problem”.The core of this is the obvious difference between Adam Smith ’s two masterpieces，The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations.The Theory of Moral Sentiments takes the good side of human nature as its premise，and holds that human moral behavior comes from altruistic emotion based on sympathy in human nature.No matter how selfish people may think of someone，there are always such instincts in his genius that he cares about the fate of others and regards the happiness of others as his own business，although he has nothing to gain except to be happy to see others ’ happiness.Of this kind is pity or compassion，the emotion we feel for the misery of others，when we either see it，or are made to conceive it in a very lively manner.[4] The Wealth of Nations，on the other hand，takes rational man as the premise，and holds that the operation of the economy originates from the egoistic motive of pursuing its own interests.Looking at it separately，it is two obviously opposing viewpoints that contradict each other in the theory of the same thinker.However，if we probe deeply into the development of Adam Smith ’s thoughts，we can easily find that although the starting points of the two works are different，it only shows that the author thinks that the motivation of producing the same result is different: the moral motivation of the former is more prominent，while the economic motivation of the latter is more prominent.In fact，their basic value goals are mutually reinforcing，that is，in addition to having a good starting point，there must be acts that produce practical effects，and the combination of the two can achieve the perfection of human virtue.Therefore，Adam Smith created not so much a split and tension between “economic man” and “moral man”，but rather a true reflection of the multifaceted and complex nature of human nature.
During the 40 years of reform and opening-up，the introduction and development of market economy has made China ’s national strength achieve unprecedented leaps.The various moral Anomies and fading of ethics accompanied by economic growth often make it easy to pay attention to the opposite side of market and morality.However，as far as the 40-year market economy has created more material wealth than the previous centuries of civilization in Chinese society and the unprecedented improvement of the people ’s livelihood of 1.3 billion Chinese people in general，we can not but admit the advantages of the actual effect provided by this economic model，and can not go without exploring it.This practical effect reflects the other side of the market which is connected with “moral rationality”.If ethics and economy are integrated，in a word，first of all，the wealth growth brought by market economy to China has proved that this economic model is the most efficient.On the one hand，the market mechanism itself stimulates the free competition of actors and mobilizes social resources and potentials to the greatest extent；on the other hand，its unique market mechanism enables it to allocate resources rationally and make more effective use of social factors of production through market supply and demand，and price system.This effective use of the resulting product with the increase in quantity and the decrease in price，achieve the link between the market and public welfare in the process of products into millions of households.Secondly，market economy has great fairness and rationality in theory.The market is always chasing efficiency，which is stimulated and promoted by free and equal competition.The correlation between the two determines that if there is no fair and reasonable mechanism，free competition will be difficult to sustain，thus unable to maintain efficient production.Because of its own impersonality and universal objectivity，market behavior can produce fairness in the original sense through market regulation and allocation，which can not be achieved by any non-economic forces，such as political power，social culture，etc.Thirdly，market economy has greatly promoted the degree of openness and circulation among regions.Market economy is based on division of labor and exchange，which makes the degree of interpersonal communication be expanded unprecedentedly.For mutually beneficial purposes，economic trade across borders，regions and groups has become increasingly extensive，and more economic gains and material resources have been shared，creating material conditions for the pursuit of a happy life for mankind.And the place of this mass welfare，the human happiness，should be the moral rationality of the market.