Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“There are both economic and moral reasons for an individual not to lie. One major moral justification to avoid lying and acquiring the habit of lying is that a free society requires an ethics of reciprocity, which means treating as a moral equal any individual who is likely to reciprocate. You don’t lie to those who don’t lie to you. … This moral reason intersects with economics because it calls for the analysis of the institutions necessary to maintain a spontaneous social order offering maximum opportunities to individuals. The freer a society is, the less one feels that others are always trying to swindle him.” (04/02/25)
https://www.econlib.org/to-lie-or-not-to-lie-moral-and-economic-reasons/