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<p>Many contributions explore how organizations or individuals could be morally improved through Aristotelian virtue ethics. However, the fundamental understanding of economic institutions with Aristotle remains largely neglected. In MacIntyre's revitalization of Aristotelian theory, the distinction between <i>oikos</i> and <i>polis</i> only applies to specific local communities, while most phenomena are understood through a modern organizational approach, in which institutions threaten practices through their orientation toward external goods. Recent business ethics approaches take an optimistic turn and blur the <i>oikos</i>-<i>polis</i> differentiation, treating every corporation as a <i>polis</i> and a place of human flourishing, thereby losing Aristotelian analytical instruments. This article reconstructs <i>oikos</i> and <i>polis</i>, drawing on recent research from the philosophy of economics, emphasizing the importance of citizenship and virtue in an Aristotelian theory of the firm. The result consists of five archetypes of the firm, reorganizing the economic and political activities of companies, showing paths for their transformation, and shedding light on issues like slavery and inequality in business ethics.</p>

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Between Oikos and Polis: Towards an Aristotelian Approach to the Firm

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月19日

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  • Sören E. Schuster

摘要

Many contributions explore how organizations or individuals could be morally improved through Aristotelian virtue ethics. However, the fundamental understanding of economic institutions with Aristotle remains largely neglected. In MacIntyre's revitalization of Aristotelian theory, the distinction between oikos and polis only applies to specific local communities, while most phenomena are understood through a modern organizational approach, in which institutions threaten practices through their orientation toward external goods. Recent business ethics approaches take an optimistic turn and blur the oikos-polis differentiation, treating every corporation as a polis and a place of human flourishing, thereby losing Aristotelian analytical instruments. This article reconstructs oikos and polis, drawing on recent research from the philosophy of economics, emphasizing the importance of citizenship and virtue in an Aristotelian theory of the firm. The result consists of five archetypes of the firm, reorganizing the economic and political activities of companies, showing paths for their transformation, and shedding light on issues like slavery and inequality in business ethics.