Philosophic Issues and the Common Moral Condemnation of Price Gouging

Module 5 Reflection Assignment
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Module 5 Reflection Assignment
1. What is the thesis?
In the author’s words, the thesis statement is, “The purpose of this paper is to explore the philosophic issues surrounding price gouging, and to argue that the common moral condemnation of it is largely mistaken” (Zwolinski, 2008).
The author seeks to examine issues that concern price gouging to demonstrate that the belief that the practice is immoral is wrong. The author appreciates that society has taken price gouging to be dishonest. As such, he works towards proving to the readers to reconsider their view on price gouging.
2. What is the structure of the paper?
The paper has five major parts. The first section entails an introduction to the topic where the author informs the readers about price gouging. The introduction also contains the thesis statement. The author further tells the readers in this section what he will include in other parts of the paper. Part two undertakes an analysis to differentiate between price gouging and other forms of market price hikes. Here, readers get to understand how price gouging is not like other forms of price hiking that are morally questionable. In section three, the author provides a normative argument. The section demonstrates that the laws that prohibit price gouging should be repealed because they are not morally justified.
Section four continues to prove the morality of price gouging. The author argues that individuals should reject attempts to refrain from the practice where the law has not prohibited it. The last section indicates that not all individuals engaging in price gouging have a questionable character. While some do it out of evil motives, this is not a conclusion that their character is questionable.
3. What is philosophical about the thesis?
The author tries to refute the claim that price gouging is immorally wrong and hence should be prohibited. The thesis is mainly a negative argument because it tries to indicate that a particular claim is mistaken. In this case, the author attempts to refute the arguments against price gouging.
4. What, in the paper, does not seem philosophical?
The author applies concepts from economics to demonstrate how market forces work. In such a case, the researcher approaches the issue of price gouging from an economic perspective as opposed to a philosophical one.
5. What understanding of the justification of the market is at play?
The market is supposed to be a place where individuals can transact freely without interference from the government. The structure of the market should be that of a willing buyer and a willing seller. Implying that price gouging exploits the consumers is misleading. As long as clients are willing to pay the price of goods and s...