“I would not say the free market corrodes the moral character. I would say the decline of moral character in democratic society has corroded, and is still corroding, the system of the free market.”
–French philosopher and author Bernard-Henri Lévy (Hat tip: Cathy Grossman)
Alan Greenspan made a similar point recently. He argued that the markets stopped functioning in part because people stopped caring about their reputations. Once you stop caring what other people think of your character — whether its for practical or moral reasons — you have no incentive to play by the rules.