Which Value Counts? Towards a Decolonial Perspective on Value Creation

Abstract Business ethics theories often start from an assumption of moral egalitarianism: the equal moral value of all humans. But if combined with theories of value, they may inadvertently reinforce unequal valuations of products, services, and ultimately human beings. This paper joins recent debates about value and value production, critiquing the dominant Western view that value can be expressed in price. We build on feminist and environmental critiques of this view, but our main contribution is to argue for adding a decolonial perspective. This perspective exposes overlooked dimensions of value creation, in particular geopolitical power and race. We illustrate the implications of a decolonial perspective on value creation by discussing a case study: the political controversies about the value(s) created by waste pickers in Brazil. We thereby demonstrate the ethical and political stakes of theories of value creation and show that a deeper rethinking is needed, going beyond existing critiques. The dialogue with decolonial approaches can help challenge biases in Western conceptions and promote more equitable global practices.