Gregory Robson

Writings

• “Distributism 2.0: Putting Holiness Back in Commercial Society,” American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, forthcoming
• “Freedom in Business: Elizabeth Anderson, Adam Smith, and the Effects of Dominance in Business” (with James R. Otteson), Philosophy of Management, forthcoming (recipient of Mendoza Mission Research Award for 2024-2025, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame, co-won with James R. Otteson, May 2025)
• “Review of Alexander William Salter’s The Political Economy of Distributism: Property, Liberty, and the Common Good,” The Independent Review, vol. 29 (winter 2024-25)
• “The Ethics of Profit-Maximizing Firms,” Philosophy Compass, invited for publication
• “Can We Morally Assess ‘Business’?“,  Library of Economics and Liberty (feature article), October 2024
• “The Business of Liberty and the Liberty of Business: Nozick’s Contribution,” The Independent Review (introduction to symposium on Nozick), vol. 29 (2024: 209-214)
• Editor, Anarchy, State, and Utopia: Robert Nozick’s Classic at 50, symposium issue for The Independent Review (2024)
• “The Profit System: How (and Why) to Deflect the Radical Critique,” Constitutional Political Economy, vol. 35 (2024): 109-122.
• “The Varieties of Moral Vice: An Aristotelian Approach,” Erkenntnis, vol. 89 (2024): 1993-2012.
• “How to Object to the Profit System (and How Not To),” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 188 (2023): 205-219.
• “Social Media Firms, Echo Chambers, and the Good Life” (2023: 204-214), in Technology Ethics: A Philosophical Introduction and Readings (Routledge, eds. Gregory Robson and Jonathan Tsou)
• “Whence our Prosperity? McCloskey on the Great Enrichment,” Qeios, March 2023
• “Can We Assess Society-Wide Systems of Firms and Markets?“, New Work in Philosophy (co-edited online by Marcus Arvan and Barry Maguire), February 2023
• “Servant Leadership and the Common Good,” invited essay for the Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame, November 2022
• “Review of James R. Otteson’s Honorable Business: A Framework for Business in a Just and Humane Society,” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 172 (2021), 191-193
• “The Effects of Market Exchange on Human Welfare,” Philosophy, Ethics, Academia (PEA Soup blog, Princeton), March 2021
• “Profitable Business: Smith’s Moral Assessment,” Speaking of Smith, AdamSmithWorks.org, January 2021
• “To Profit Maximize, or Not to Profit Maximize?: For Firms, This Is A Valid Question” Economics & Philosophy vol. 35 (2019), 307-320

Recent Talks

• “God, Catholic Thought, and Commercial Society,” Podcast interview, Spotlight, February 2025
• “The Purpose of Christian Political Economy,” Markets and Society Conference, Washington DC, October 2024
• Panelist, “Putting AI to Work: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” ASQ Quality Innovation Summit Panel (for business leaders) in Milwaukee, online, October 2024
• “The Liberty of Business,” University of Fribourg Research Workshop, Kandersteg, Switzerland, September 2024
• “Commercial Society: The Difficulty of Systemic Critique” (plenary), Institute for the Study of Political Economy, Midwest Institutes Conference at Ball State University, May 2024
• “AI and Economic Planning,” Institute for the Study of Political Economy, Midwest Institutes Conference at Ball State University, May 2024
• “Planning Future Economies: Can AI Be Trusted?,” Mendoza College of Business, Notre Dame Ethics Week, February 2024
• “Objecting to the Profit System: The Demandingness of Systematic Critique,” Georgetown University, Faculty Workshop in the McDonough School of Business, October 2022
• “The Promises and Perils of Profit Maximization,” meeting of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, Las Vegas, April 2022
• “Reconciling Persons and Profits,” meeting of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, Las Vegas, April 2022
• “How to Object to the Profit System (and How Now To),” PPE Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, February 2022
• Discussant and chair, Society for Business Ethics “Coffee with an Author” session with James Otteson, on his Honorable Business: A Framework for Business in a Just and Humane Society, online, July 2021
• “How to Object to the Profit System and How Not To,” Society for Business Ethics, online, July 2021
• “How to Object to the Profit System and How Not To,” meeting of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, April 2021
• “The Ethics of the Firm,” Iowa State University (ISU Research Days), online, March 2021
• “Firm Paternalism and Business Ethics,” PPE Society, New Orleans, March 2018
• “To Profit Maximize, or Not to Profit Maximize: For Firms, This Is A Valid Question,” Wake Forest University School of Business, February 2018