You will get to choose to answer a selection of essay questions on one portion of the final exam. That means you may not need to answer all of these, but only some. How many, I’m not saying.
1. Your professor has tried to present to you as much relevant material as she could in order to prove the following: there is not currently available to us a coherent account of the purpose of business or the justification (including its own purpose and what it needs to work) of the market.
Do you, too, believe this is the case? If so, why? What convinced you of this? If not, why not? If not, where else might we need to look to find a clear account of these matters?
2. Tullock seems to suggest that large, named companies in competitive fields benefit from developing “good reputations”. Why, then, did Gymboree not gain customers for its efforts to comply to safety regulations for children’s clothing? Could the Gymboree example show that Tullock’s thesis is wrong?
Be sure to explain Tullock well in your answer. I’ll include the news article about Gymboree in the final exam.
3. Do you think the view John Mackey gave in the Reason interview is compatible with the memo he wrote to his board concerning Wild Oats? Why or why not? Try to prove your take.
4. Can you ethically assess McDonald’s by weighing ethical complaints against economic benefits? I will give you this handout along with the final: http://www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/translations/trans_uk.html
Please look at it in advance. It lists a number of complaints, just like we did in class against Wal-Mart. How can you balance these against any economic benefits of there being McDonald’s? Come to any conclusion you’d like- but I will be looking for your attempt to at least acknowledge the benefits to general affluence that McDonald’s may bring (despite any complaints like those listed).
5. There is another I warned you about: would you would defend or support consumerism with reasoning? The best way to do this might be to represent Schorr’s views, which we went over in class. If you can’t open her reading still – you can just skip this question on the test. You will have a choice of these questions! Our discussion was also complex enough to give you an opportunity to learn the concerns people have. Articulate a clear position on the matter. Use examples and consider objections others might have.
