Yes, you did state that business should be run as ethically as
possible. And, yes, I do consider "as ethically as possible" to be
ethical (if that was your question). Obviously, one can always
improve, but I do recognize that there will be compromises sometimes.
(Just saw "The Crime of Padre Amaro" last night, which kind of deals
with how an ethical church can go off the rails in pursuit of good.
Of course, it deals with other things, too, such as corruption of morals.)
I agree with you 123.7% that we have caused this behavior by
demanding the lowest priced product available. When the price of a
piece of goods falls below what it would cost to produce it by
ethical means, we all lose. Fortunately, there are now some better
alternatives appearing in the wider market at a reasonable price
(e.g., food) which were only available in very limited urban areas at
very high prices. Although I work in the environmental area out of
choice, I am not averse to buying food grown with fertilizers or
pesticides, or clothing that has been manufactured in a large mill as
opposed to with thread I've spun myself. Industry and science have
given us better things and made life easier. It is some of those who
manage those industries that have let greed get the better of them.
And Wall Street does have a lot to answer for. I do appreciate that I
can earn quite well living here, as opposed to most any other place.
And I'm quite sure I've done plenty of unethical things, knowingly
and un-. On the other hand, I was once accused of having too high
morals by someone at work, as though that was something really,
really bad (and it wasn't really that high a bar: it was something
quite ordinary, like not fudging one's timesheet). That spoke volumes
about the culture of business.
But, you see, Wall Street is also, in many ways, us. I'm sure many of
us own stocks or shares in mutual funds. The former can be chosen
with care, if one wants to avoid problem industries for whatever
reason (ethical or moral or just because). Mutual funds, though,
because they own many stocks, can be difficult to select.
Interestingly, many business schools now have rediscovered ethics.
Let's see if this is real. Time will tell.
Obviously, the whole thing is quite complicated, specially when you
add in those people who cannot afford to be ethical if they are to
survive. Let's take the much-maligned WalMart. Many people who work
there also shop there because that's what they can afford. And they
work there because that may be the best job they could get. Waving
the ethical banner at people who are living on the edge isn't very
ethical in itself (think about that!). Once you get them off the
edge, then go ahead and wave that banner. That (living on the edge),
however, is not an excuse that those in power can use. What's their
excuse for not helping others?
I don't think what I've said here is something you'd disagree with in
a large way, if I read you correctly (in this debate and in others
over the years).
Adil
At 06:09 PM 11/27/2009, you wrote:
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:03:52 -0600
From: "Rev. Stewart Marshall" <revsamarsh...@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: Gulag?
I also stated that business should be run in as ethically as
possible. Do you consider that ethical?
But we have also caused some of this behavior as we demand the lowest
priced product available.
Plus I think Wall Street is also responsible as they demand that a
business publicly held show a profit.
Stewart
At 03:36 PM 11/27/2009, you wrote:
>Okay, I resisted this discussion until this email of yours, Stewart.
>Yes, business has a right to make a profit. But, does it have a
>right to maximize its profits by maximizing the exploitation of its
>workers? If the answer to that is yes, then I'd say you have no
>business of being in the business of ethics and morality. Whatever
>happened to being humane? Whatever happened to allowing one's
>workers some balance in their lives so that they spend some time
>with their families? Have we become so obsessed with profit that we
>have lost track of why we work: so that we may live? And not the
>other way around: live so that we may work.
>
<rest snipped>
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