A Moral Evaluation of Speculation on Agricultural Commodities. Consideration of the Greatest Happiness Principle by Jeremy Bentham

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the Present, grade: 1,5, Harvard University, language: English, abstract: Which consequences do the speculation on agricultural commodities have on food prices? Is it morally wrong to speculate on agricultural commodities? Are policy makers ethically obligated to regulate the speculation of agricultural commodities? The following paper will face these issues. First of all, I will define the greatest happiness principle by Jeremy Bentham, agricultural commodities, commodity futures and futures markets as well as speculation. Afterwards, I will analyze the consequences of speculation on agricultural commodities for all concerned parties. Doing this, I will examine the effects of the speculation on commodity trading firms, banks, investors and the price development of agricultural commodities. On the basis of the results of my examination, I will apply the greatest happiness principle. Given this analysis, I will state my advice for policy makers.