Being Sadharana: talking about the just business person in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The ethics of business is a very old problem, debated extensively by philosophers, writers and social scientists, and it underpins current concepts of social justice within a market economic system. In rural societies, where most people engage in agriculture or fishing, disdain for those who make a living by trade has a long history. Sri Lanka is no exception. Current global discourses on business ethics and the profit motive tend to focus on the practices of large corporations rather than on micro, small and medium businesses, which form the economic fabric of most countries. In this essay, the author examines the discourse of doing sadharana ("just") business in order to determine how rural people perceive and talk about businesses in their communities and regions, and what it is about business and business people that they find problematic.