What is a "Just Price"?

Abstract

“Solidarity products” are now in vogue: Coffee, honey, chocolate—available in all Swiss Coop and Migros supermarkets—play an active role in the promotion of these products for “fair trade.” These goods, identifiable by their packaging, bring to mind images of tropical plantations and foreign workers. Amigos—a popular brand name in Switzerland—emphasizes its exotic origin and seeks to impart a feeling of conviviality. However, the drawback to these brand names is that they are far more expensive than their competitors’ products. Swiss retail chain Max Havelaar —the distributor of these “ethical” products—explains that the higher cost sets a positive moral example since the profit margin is diverted back to the poor small planters of South America and Africa. The company alleges that because the surplus profit ends up in the pockets of the workers, the higher prices are just. But in what sense precisely are these prices “just?” Is there an indisputable criterion to differentiate the just from the unjust in pricing goods? If so, what is it? Christian Michel, "What is a 'Just Price'?" Journal of Markets & Morality 2, no. 2 (Fall 1999): 182-196