“Character comes first and makes liberty possible, and one of the highest and most noble callings of a responsible adults in a free society is to be an honest entrepreneur who creates value, employs people, and solves problems.”

 –Lawrence W. Reed

 

Overview:

Civil society refers to all the non-government institutions and associations that make up our communities. Civil society includes things like the family, religious groups, private enterprise, and charitable organizations. In this series of lessons, students will explore the relationship between successful entrepreneurship, personal character, and civil society. Rewards for an entrepreneur’s ethical behavior and good business ethics can be seen in profits and innovation, but it can also be noticed in individual strength of character. Entrepreneurs with strong personal character serve as role models for others in society to follow.

 

Concepts and Terms:

• Business Ethics
• Character
• Civil Society
• Entrepreneurship
• Freedom
• Honesty

 

 

 

• Integrity
• Property Rights
• Values
• Virtue
• Subsidy
• Specialization

 

 

Objectives:

Students will be able to…

• Define character and understand the connection between personal character and civil society
• Understand and articulate the meaning of integrity and “doing the right thing”
• Understand that human beings respond to incentives in predictable ways
• Recognize the importance of freedom, individual rights, and private property in cultivating civil society
• Describe how free market competition encourages people to practice peaceful interaction and increases social harmony and cooperation

Related Standards:

Standard 4: Incentives – People usually respond predictably to positive and negative incentives.

Standard 14: Entrepreneurship – Entrepreneurs take on the calculated risk of starting new businesses, either by embarking on new ventures similar to existing ones or by introducing new innovations. Entrepreneurial innovation is an important source of economic growth.

Standard 15: Economic Growth – Investment in factories, machinery, new technology, and in the health, education, and training of people stimulates economic growth and can raise future standards of living.

Lesson 1 – Virtue and Entrepreneurship

Description:

Strong personal character is essential for entrepreneurial success. Moral virtues such as ambition, integrity, courage, productiveness, and rationality translate into success in the business world. Furthermore, a free society is impossible without strong character. Entrepreneurship both demands and reinforces strong personal character.

In this lesson, students will watch and discuss a video “Entrepreneurship and Virtue Ethics” by the Entrepreneurial Ethics Series. Next students will complete an activity that reinforces the importance of values, personal character, and economic freedom. Then students will read and discuss an article “Character, Liberty, and Economics” by Lawrence W. Reed.

 

Time Required:

45 min

 

Required Materials:

Internet connection, writing instrument 

 

Prerequisites:

None

 

7.1.A – Watch the following video and be prepared to answer the questions that follow [25 min]:

Video:(Entrepreneurial Ethics Series, 14:15 min)

“A brief video explaining the link between Entrepreneurial Success Traits and Moral Virtues.”

Discussion Questions: Entrepreneurship and Virtue Ethics

1. What do the three biggest names in the entrepreneurial world agree is the most important thing to judge whether someone will have entrepreneurial success?

1. All three agree that a person’s character is key to telling whether they will have entrepreneurial success.
2. J.P Morgan was asked whether “Money was always loaned out based on one’s assets?” to which he responded, “No sir. The first thing is character. Because a man I do not trust could not get money from me on all the bonds in Christendom.”
3. Georges Doriot, the ‘Father of venture capitalism’ – states “When someone comes in with an idea that’s never been tried, the only way you can judge is by the kind of man you’re dealing with.”
4. Kevin O’Connor, when asked what he looks for when people are seeking venture capital from him, he said “I look at three big things: Have they found a big problem in a big market? Have they solved the problem in what I believe to be the most effective way? And are they able to pull it off – are they smart, are they aggressive, are they honest and are they hardworking?”

 

2. What is the link between entrepreneurial success traits and moral virtues? What are these traits and the relating moral virtues?

1. The video states there is a wide range of entrepreneurial success traits that lead to moral virtues and having these traits will lead to entrepreneurial success. These traits and moral virtues include:

• Knowledge and creativity – leads to rationality by way of reason and accurate judgment
• Ambition – drives pride and leads to personal achievement
• Initiative – based on integrity
• Guts – leads to courage (by awareness of risks & failure)
• Perseverance – leads to independence (trust your own judgment)
• Trial and error – leads to objectivity (understand objective reality)
• Productivity – leads to productiveness (create value)
• Win-win trade – leads to justice (use independent judgment & trade value for value)
• Leadership – leads to leadership-ness

1. When a person has all of these traits this leads to enjoying and experiencing success which leads to self-esteem and flourishing (both psychological and financial happiness & fulfillment)

7.1.B – Complete the following activity and be prepared to share your results [10 min]:

Activity: My Personal Values

What are the most important character traits for people to have in the society you would like to live in? Choose the 3 most important character traits you believe are most valuable to you personally that you would like to see the people around you to have.

Examples:

• Honesty
• Self-discipline
• Courage
• Strength
• Caring
• Self-reliance
• Optimism
• Patience
• Motivation
• Intelligence
• Responsibility for their own actions
• Think long-term, not just present short-term

 

What are the 3 most important character traits you would want people around you to have? What makes these character traits important? 

1.     _____________________________________________________

2.     _____________________________________________________

3.     _____________________________________________________

Teacher Tip: Ask students for the first words that come to mind when asked, “What are the most important character traits for people to have?” Write these examples on the board, and ask a few students to share why they chose character traits they did.  At the end of the activity, remind students that freedom serves as the foundation to a prosperous and harmonious society.

Discussion Questions: My Personal Values

1.  Different people hold different values in high esteem. How does freedom in society allow people with different values to exist together peacefully?

 

2.  Which character traits do you think are the essential foundations for a prosperous society? In other words, the absence of what character traits by people in society would make life very difficult?

1. Without freedom, individuals are not free to use their minds the best way they desire, and they are unable to develop their fullest human potential.
2. Individual growth and societal progress is therefore not possible without free will.

 

Teacher Tip: Write any additional traits that students may think of on the board for additional class discussion and consideration.

3. Are there more traits that you think are important that are not listed above? Please support your answers.

7.1.C – Students will read the following article and answer the questions [10 min]:

Article: Character, Liberty, and Economics by Lawrence W. Reed (FEE.org)

“Bad character leads to bad economics, which is bad for liberty. Ultimately, whether we live free and in harmony with the laws of economics or stumble in the dark thrall of serfdom is a character issue.”

Discussion Questions: Character, Liberty, and Economics

1.  What, according to the author, are some of the reasons that people vote for short-term gains even when they understand economics?

1. Lawrence W. Reed explains “Even among the most ardent supporters of free market causes are people who “leak” when it comes to their own bottom lines. A recent example was the corn farmer who berated me for opposing ethanol subsidies. Does he not understand basic economics? I’ve known him for years and I believe he does. But that understanding melted away with the corrupting lure of a handout.”
2. As shown through the example the author provides, his friend understands the economics behind a subsidy – in the long run everyone will lose from the increase in taxes needed to pay for the cost of the subsidy. There are also increased administrative costs to pay for the bureaucracy that administers the policy.
3. However the author believes that people without strong character can easily be persuaded to vote for short-term gains that come at the expense of others, if those gains benefit them.

 

2.  What elements define strong character?

1. Lawrence W. Reed explains “Chief among the elements that define strong character are these: honesty, humility, responsibility, self-discipline, self-reliance, optimism, a long term focus, and a lust for learning. A free society is impossible without them.”
2. The author believes that with bad character traits comes bad economic decisions which harms everyone’s liberty.

 

Lesson Recap

 

• Strong personal character is the key to having long-term entrepreneurial success.

 

• There is a direct correlation between strong personal character, self-esteem, and being prosperous.

 

• Virtuous entrepreneurs set examples as role models for future generations to follow.

 

• Achieving and maintaining a free society is impossible without men and women of strong character.

 

 

 

Additional Resources

Article: Living the 7 Entrepreneurial Virtues by Kevin Daum (inc.com)

We all strive to be our best. Here are seven traits to make your entrepreneurial journey heavenly.

 

Book: Are We Good Enough for Liberty?  by Lawrence W. Reed (FEE.org)

“This small book conveys a very big message: character makes all the difference in the world. You are personally in charge of your own character and are in a position to have a considerable influence on the character of others by your example. If you have a conscience, this should matter a great deal to you. If you value liberty, you must understand that character is an indispensable ingredient—a necessary pre-condition—for a free society.”