Economic Analysis Of Ecological Ethics

Ecological ethic is the ethic between human and nature, which presupposes inherent value and moral right of nature, extends moral concern from human society to the whole nature, and purses harmonious development of human and nature. By increasing seriousness of environmental problems, rise and development of ecological ethics and advocating of many governments, academic circles and social personage pay more attention to ecological ethic. Ecological ethic is researched on the point of economics in this paper, which demonstrates reasonableness of ecological ethic by analyzing its supply and demand relation, behavior mechanism and institution function, thus providing necessary economics supply for development of ecological ethic.Dialectical relation and interaction between ecological ethic and economy is the presupposition and starting point for economic analysis on ecological ethic. Just because the same subject and values apply to ecological ethic and economy, it is possible to study ecological ethic on the point of economics. Interest is medium between ecological ethic and economy, and relation between human and nature is their common subject. According to the principle of interrelation between economic base and superstructure, economy determines ecological ethic and ecological ethic counteracts economy. The study angles of ecological ethic in economics field mainly include the angles of product, behavior and institution. Ethic economics theory, public goods theory, behavior economics theory and institution economics theory constitute theoretical basis of economic analysis of ecological ethic.From the angle of product, the author mainly analyses the utility, public goods quality and supply-demand balance of ecological ethic. Orientated at harmonious development of human and nature, ecological ethic can produce tremendous utility for human and nature. It is service not only for nature but also for human. Its utility has non-divisibility, its consumption has non-rivalness, and its benefit has non-excludability. Ecological ethic is a kind of public goods. It is difficult to define its balance price and amount through visible market exchange because its supply and demand are influenced by many factors. The author judges supply-demand balance of ecological ethic by stimulating market manifestation of general public goods. Its optimal disposition condition is that the sum of marginal return of human and nature equals marginal cost.From the angle of behavior, the author analyses the subjects, logic and return of ecological ethic behavior. Ecological ethic is one-way morality from human to nature, so its behavior subject is just human. The supposition of economic person is supplemented and revised, because the original one has moral vacancy and environmental fault. The behavior subject of ecological ethic is a rational one who has ecological consciousness and dual motives of egoism and altruism to defend common benefits of human and nature and pursue maximum of multiple benefits. The inherent logic of ecological ethic behavior is that return is more than cost, but the return here includes ecological, economic and spiritual return. The optimal border of behavior is that marginal return equals marginal cost. As different subjects, individuals, companies, governments and non-government organizations carry out different behaviors, which can bring ecological, economic and social benefits. Regarding human and nature as a community, the author appraises ecological ethic behavior basing on welfare change of this community. Ecological ethic behavior brings positive utility to the behavior subject and nature. Furthermore, it enhances benefits of others. It is a kind of Pareto improvement in community of human and nature.From the angle of institution, the author analyses the quality, forming, functioning and effects of ecological ethic institution. According to institution economics, ecological ethic should be put into the category of institution and be regarded as an informal environmental institution. It has double forming ways. One hand, it is cooperation solution of repeated games between human and nature and among persons. On the other hand, it is outcome of artificial designs under real background. By the functioning of appreciation, self-discipline and other-discipline mechanisms, ecological ethic institution can overcome free-car behaviors, restrain anti-ecological ethic behaviors to some extent, promote cooperation and cost-save of ecological ethic behaviors and have important effects on environmental protection and economic development.At last, the author turns the angle to China and analyses ecological ethic practice in our country. There are serious environmental problems in our country, which exert a great unfavorable influence on people's living and social development. The contradiction between human and nature is becoming more and more acute. In order to push forward ecological ethic practice in China, four aspects of innovations should be implemented from macro-level: expediting ecological ethic institution construction by institution innovation, promoting development of environment protection organizations by organization innovation, supplying legal safeguard for ecological ethic by innovation of the legal system and building technical support for ecological ethic by technology innovation. Concrete actions of ecological ethic practice include rational consumption, clean production, developing environmental industry, protecting biodiversity and participating in international cooperation.