Jason Brennan (Ph.D., University of Arizona, 2007) is the Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. His research spans political philosophy, business ethics, political economy, and public policy, with a particular focus on democracy, markets, institutions, and ethical leadership. His work sits at the intersection of philosophy, economics, and business, examining how markets, political institutions, and organizations can be designed to promote ethical behavior, human flourishing, and effective governance. He is Editor-in-Chief of Philosophy & Public Affairs and an Associate Editor of Social Philosophy and Policy.
Brennan is the author or coauthor of twenty-one books, including Glass Houses: Choosing Grace in a Judgmental World, Debating Capitalism: Social Democracy or Market Liberalism?, Against Democracy, Markets without Limits, Business Ethics for Better Behavior, Good Work If You Can Get It, The Ethics of Voting, and Democracy: A Guided Tour. He is also co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Libertarianism.
His books have been translated over thirty times into eighteen languages. The German edition of Against Democracy became a Der Spiegel bestseller. He has published more than eighty peer-reviewed journal articles and more than fifty peer-reviewed book chapters. His work has appeared in leading journals in philosophy, political theory, economics, and business ethics and has contributed to scholarly and public debates about democracy, markets, and public policy.
Brennan created the Ethics Project, an experiential learning program that helps students develop ethical leadership through student-directed entrepreneurial action. In 2024, Poets & Quants named him one of the world's 50 Best Undergraduate Business Professors, and in 2022 he received Georgetown University's Provost's Innovation in Teaching Award for developing the Ethics Project. In 2025, the Clark Foundation established a $3 million endowment to support the Ethics Project.
Academic Appointment(s)
- Primary
- Professor, McDonough School of Business