Business ethics by Karl Homann is the topic of the new issue of the Journal of Business and Corporate Ethics

The discourse on business and corporate ethics in Germany is closely associated with the name of Karl Homann. His work on the epistemological foundations of business ethics, on the moral significance of private-sector action, and his application of social contract theory to the moral evaluation of economic institutions have had a decisive impact on the German-language discussion of business ethics in recent decades. However, this purely economic approach to social ethics has always been highly controversial, both theoretically and in terms of its implications for "public policy." Moreover, in light of the financial crises and the global ecological challenge, the acceptance of free-market economic policies has changed significantly in recent years, both in academia and among the general public. These critical inquiries have led to a further refinement and theoretical development of Homann's concept of economic ethics as well.

The issue now published by Nomos publishing house, as well as another forthcoming issue, aim to reflect on the significance of Homann's economic approach, to document its developments, and to highlight possible applications and limitations to this theory. The current issue of ZfWU 1/2023 contains contributions by Bettina Hollstein, Karl Homann, Ingo Pies, Tanja Rechnitzer, Wolf Rogowski, Michael Schramm and Andreas Suchanek. Issue 2/2023 will contain contributions by Lida Kuang et al, Gerhard Minnameier, Benjamin Roth et al, Georg Trautnitz and Jörg Althammer.