Abstract
The focus of the present research is on the notion of economic responsibility as it was first introduced by Jean Maurice Clarke in the early 20th century and further expounded on by Milton Friedman half a century later. Thereby the aim is neither to present a historical and systematic description of validated positions nor to draw a comparison between them, but rather to elaborate on a sufficiently distinctive characterization of the ethical questions implied, though not explicitly presented, in the concepts of economic responsibility. The research is carried out against the backdrop of the premise of the precedence of reason and constitutive for the tradition of metaphysical thinking. It involves critical distinctions characteristic of Immanuel Kant’s ethics.