70. The speaker asserts that in creating and marketing1 products, companies act
ethically3 merely by not violating any laws. Although the speaker's position is not
wholly insupportable, far more compelling arguments can be made for holding
businesses to higher ethical2 standards than those required by the letter of the law.
On the one hand, two colorable arguments can be made for holding business only
to legal standards of conduct. First, imposing4 a higher ethical duty can actual harm
consumers in the long term. Compliance5 with high ethical standards can be cosplaytly6 for
business, thereby7 lowering profits and, in turn, impeding8 a company's ability to create
jobs , keep prices low , and so forth9. Second, limited
accountability is consistent with the buyer beware principle that permeates10 our laws
of contracts and torts, as well as our notion in civil procedure that plaintiffs carry the
burden or proving damage. In other words, the onus11 should be on consumers to protect
themselves, not on companies to protect consumers.
On the other hand. several convincing arguments can be made for holding
business to a higher ethical standard. First, in many cases government regulations that
protect consumers lag behind advances in technology. A new marketing technique made
possible by. internet technology may be unethical but nevertheless might not be
proscribed12 by the letter of the laws which predated the Internet. Second, enforceability
might not extend beyond geographic13 borders. Consider, for example, the case of
dumping. When products fail to comply with U.S. regulations, American companies
frequently marketor dumpsuch products in third-world countries where
consumer-protection laws are virtually nonexistent. Third, moral principles form the
basis of government regulation and are, therefore, more fundamental than the law.
In the final analysis, white overburdening businesses with obligations to
consumers may not be a good idea in the extreme, our regulatory system is not as
effective as it should be. Therefore, businesses should adhere to a higher standard of
ethics14 in creating and marketing products than what is required by the letter of the law.
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