Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows the mutual influence of processes of economic and ethical theory building and the last one discusses two different ways of ethical approach, applying them to the concrete problem of a better pharmaceutical distribution to let more people share medical supplies all over the world. It offers an overview of the different demands companies are expected to fulfil. The book analyses four ethical theories: discourse ethics represented by J. Habermas; two specimens of contractarian ethics represented by J. Rawls and K. Binmore; and order ethics represented by K. Homann and himself. It shows that the notion of corporate citizenship can be understood not only within one, but within two systems-in terms of economics and in terms of ethics.