Business Ethics & Corporate Responsibility

What sorts of ethical duties do corporations have? Some argue that any such duties are limited just to following the law and earning a profit for shareholders. Others argue, though, that they also have ethical responsibilities towards the larger community - responsibilities similar to that of individual human beings.

According to The Economist:

The goal of a well-run company may be to make profits for its shareholders, but merely in doing that—provided it faces competition in its markets, behaves honestly and obeys the law—the company, without even trying, is doing good works.

This is an amazingly narrow vision of ethics and ethical responsibilities. Imagine: so long as a company is earning a profit, they have no ethical obligation to do anything not mandated by the law. This ultimately encourages writing more and more laws, something that conservatives usually complain about (and rightly, I should add). Law and ethics are distinct spheres. Sometimes we are ethically obligated to do things that the law doesn't require; sometimes we might even be required by law to do things we find ethically questionable.

There is no good reason to think that corporations, already treated by the law as "persons" in many respects, are any different.

The standard of living people in the West enjoy today is due to little else but the selfish pursuit of profit.

Little else? So all of the "socialist" laws enacted since the mid-20th century have had "little" impact on the standard of living people enjoy. The government-funded creation of the standards behind the internet isn't very relevant. Government investment in infrastructure like roads, rail lines, and schools isn't very relevant. Government investment in health care, vaccinations, and various standards for drinking water or food have "little" to do with people's standard of living.

What utter tripe.

Read More:

• Guide to Ethics and Morality
• News About Ethics