BUU33590 Business in Society 2025/26

(5 ECTS)

Lecturer:

Sam Ferns

E-mail: TBA
Office Hours: Fridays 9am-10am; Adjunct Room (427)

Available to Exchange students

Module Description

This module investigates the relationship between business and society. It departs by noting that business is an inherent part of society; hence, we use the phrase business in society, not business and society. The course brings a critical lens to some of the more traditional topics associated with corporate social responsibility (CSR). It focuses on new models and competing conceptions of the purpose of business, the society in which it exists, and the manner of their interaction. These problems are explored using the philosophical tools of social, political and ethical theory. The module begins with a critical examination of ideas put forward by Freeman, Martin and Parmar in The Power of And: Responsible Business Without Trade-Offs. This will lead us to ask such questions as: What is society, and what is the place of business within it? What are human beings like? How might the major ethical positions inform our views of business? What is freedom, and how does it relate to the pursuits of business? The latter part of the course looks in more detail at the society in which business finds itself: capitalism. This will mean thinking about the nature and origins of this form of society, investigating the categories through which it may be socially, politically and ethically assessed, and formulating the implications of these considerations for business itself.

Learning & Teaching Approach

Teaching and learning in this module centres on lectures and supporting tutorials. It is expected that students should complete the relevant pre-reading and engage actively in class discussions and group activities. Group debates will also take place at scheduled times throughout the module.

Learning Outcomes

Having completed this module, you should be able to:

Explain and evaluate core theories, concepts and frameworks informative of the role of business in society.
Differentiate between and explain central concepts of society, humanity, ethics and freedom bearing upon the purpose and place of business.
Compare and contrast theories of society and identify their ramifications for the practice of business.
Identify classic concepts of social philosophy and argue their implications for ethical and critical thinking about business.
Recognise and evaluate the implications for business of theories and criticisms of capitalism.

Relation to Degree

This module forms part of a suite of modules of Trinity Business School across the four years of our business-related degree programmes. This suite is focused on a range of philosophical, ethical and societal issues that constitute the broader environment of business and affect the relationship between business and society. The aim is to enable the development of technically capable and conceptually proficient graduates who can thrive in a dynamic and fast-changing environment. The module will serve to develop students’ understanding and skills in critical analysis as well as provide valuable context for all other modules.

Workload

Content	Indicative Number of Hours
Reading prescribed material	60
Lectures and class debates	22
Group assignment	18
Preparation for and writing of final exam	25
Total	125

Tutorials

There will be tutorials for this module. Dates and further information will be provided during the first lecture. These tutorials will provide an opportunity to work through some exam-style questions as a group. They will not be graded, but attendance will be taken.

COURSE COMMUNICATION

Please note that all course related email communication must be sent from your official TCD email address. Emails sent from other addresses will not be attended to.

Assessment

Assessment for this module comprises an examination and a group assignment.

End-of-term examination: 75% of final grade.
Group assignment: 25% of final grade.

The group assignment is integrated with class debates scheduled to take place during lectures. These debates will commence in week 4. Two groups will debate a motion related to the topics of the course. One team will support the motion, while the other will oppose it. After the debate, each group must submit a 2000-word written report on their topic and arguments. The written report should reflect the position taken by your group in the debate and does not have to reflect your individual opinions. The topics of debate will be provided in week 3.

Lecture Topics and Readings

Session 1: Concepts and Conceptions of Business in Society (19.9.25)

This unit will introduce contrasting conceptions of the nature, purpose and place of business in society. It will also identify key concepts and questions.

Freeman, R. Edward, Martin, Kristen E., and Bidhan L. Parmar. The Power of And: Responsible Business Without Trade-Offs. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020, 1-27 (chapter 1); also 29-84 (chapters 2-4).

Friedman, Milton. “A Freidman Doctrine — The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits.” New York Times, September 13, 1970.

Session 2: Societies and Markets (26.9.25)

This unit will examine concepts of society and ideas about markets. In particular, it will compare different theories of society, in order then to work through their contrasting visions of the place of markets within society.

Freeman, R. Edward, Martin, Kristen E., and Bidhan L. Parmar. The Power of And: Responsible Business Without Trade-Offs. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020, 85-107 (chapter 5).

Polanyi, Karl. The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, 2^nd Ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 2001, 45-58 (chapter 4).

Aristotle. Politics. Translated by C.D. C. Reeve. Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett, 2017, selections.

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan, Revised Student Ed. Edited by Richard Tuck. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996, selections.

Session 3: Humanity and Economics (3.10.25)

This unit will ask about the significance of conceptions of human nature for ideas about business in society.

Freeman, R. Edward, Martin, Kristen E., and Bidhan L. Parmar. The Power of And: Responsible Business Without Trade-Offs. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020, 109-128 (chapter 6).

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “Discourse on the Origin and the Foundations of Inequality Among Men or Second Discourse.” In The Discourses and Other Early Political Writings, 2^nd Ed. Edited and translated by Victor Gourevitch. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2019, selections.

Smith, Adam. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Edited by R. H. Campbell, A. S. Skinner and W. B. Todd. Carmel: Liberty Fund, 1981, selections.

Smith, Adam. The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Edited by D. D. Raphael and A. L. Macfie. Carmel: Liberty Fund, 1982, selections.

Session 4: Business and Ethics (10.10.25)

This unit will compare moral theories and look specifically at what some of their major representatives have had to say about the ethics of business.

Freeman, R. Edward, Martin, Kristen E., and Bidhan L. Parmar. The Power of And: Responsible Business Without Trade-Offs. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020, 129-140 (chapter 7).

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by C. D. C. Reeve. Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett, 2014, selections.

Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism, 2^nd Ed. Edited by George Sher. Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett, 2001, selections.

Kant, Immanuel. “Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals.” In Practical Philosophy. Edited and translated by Mary J. Gregor. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996, selections.

Session 5: Freedom and Capitalism (17.10.25)

This unit will look at different conceptions of freedom and ask about the implications of these for our view of capitalist society.

Marx, Karl. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy – Volume I. Translated by Ben Fowkes. London: Penguin, 1976, selections.

Honneth, Axel. “Three, Not Two, Concepts of Liberty: A Proposal to Enlarge Our Moral Self-Understanding.” In The Poverty of Our Freedom: Essays 2012-2019. Cambridge, UK and Hoboken: Polity Press, 2023.

Leipold, Bruno. “Chains and Invisible Threads: Liberty and Domination in Marx’s Account of Wage-Slavery.” In Rethinking Liberty Before Liberalism. Edited by Hannah Dawson and Annelien de Dijn. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2022.

Session 6: The Nature and Origins of Capitalism (24.10.25)

This unit will compare accounts of the essential elements and origins of capitalism to give us a foundation for thinking through the topics of the following weeks.

Marx, Karl. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy – Volume I. Translated by Ben Fowkes. London: Penguin, 1976, selections.

Fraser, Nancy. Cannibal Capitalism. London and New York: Verso, 2022, xiii-xvii (preface) and 1-26 (chapter 1).

Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origin of Capitalism: A Longer View. London and New York: Verso, 2017, selections.

Session 7: Alienation and Reification (7.11.25)

This unit will look at two classic concepts of critical social theory – alienation and reification – and try to work through their implications by applying them to contemporary topics.

Marx, Karl. “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844.” In The Marx-Engels Reader, 2^nd Ed. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York and London: Norton, 1978.

Lukács, György. “Reification and the Consciousness of the Proletariat.” In History and Class Consciousness. Translated by Rodney Livingstone. London: Merlin, 1971.

Adorno, Theodor W. “On the Fetish Character in Music and the Regression in Listening.” In The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture. Edited by J. M. Bernstein. London and New York: Routledge, 1991.

Session 8: Agency and Domination (14.11.25)

This unit will introduce a further avenue of assessment by comparing ideas of agency and models of domination stemming from critical social theory.

Marx, Karl. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy – Volume I. Translated by Ben Fowkes. London: Penguin, 1976, selections.

Gramsci, Antonio. Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Edited and translated by Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith. London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1971, selections.

Postone, Moishe. Time, Labor and Social Domination: A Reinterpretation of Marx’s Critical Theory. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993, selections.

Session 9: Capitalism and Democracy (21.11.25)

This unit will investigate the relationship between capitalism and democracy. It will ask: Do capitalist economic relations support or undermine democratic values and practices? Could business or the economy be changed to better support democracy? Should they be?

Fraser, Nancy. Cannibal Capitalism. London and New York: Verso, 2022, 115-39 (chapter 5).

Honneth, Axel. The Working Sovereign: Labour and Democratic Citizenship. Translated by Daniel Steuer. Cambridge, UK and Hoboken: Polity Press, 2024, selections.

Session 10: Capitalism and Nature (28.11.25)

This unit will look at the relationship between capitalism and nature. It will ask: Does capitalism necessarily undermine nature or is the relationship between the two contingent? What kinds of economic practice would be conducive to the right relationship with nature?

Fraser, Nancy. Cannibal Capitalism. London and New York: Verso, 2022, 75-113 (chapter 4).

Saito, Kohei. Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2022, selections.

Session 11: Capitalism and Race (5.12.25)

This unit will look at the relationship between capitalism and race. It will ask: Is capitalism an essentially racist form of society or is the relationship between the two a matter of historical contingency? How should we study and assess their relation?

Fraser, Nancy. Cannibal Capitalism. London and New York: Verso, 2022, 27-52 (chapter 2).

Hall, Stuart. “Gramsci’s Relevance for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.” In Essential Essays – Volume 2: Identity and Diaspora. Edited by David Morley. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2019.

Biographical Note

Sam Ferns is an IRC Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholar currently completing a PhD at the School of Philosophy, University College Dublin. His dissertation elaborates a genealogy of Frankfurt School Critical Theory by reconstructing the principles of knowledge present at the core of that tradition of thought. His areas of specialisation are social and political philosophy, European philosophy, epistemology and the philosophy of social science. His work has been published in Critical Horizons and Perspectives.