Do Businesses have a Moral Obligation Beyond what the Law Requires? (original) (raw)

The tendency in current discussions of business ethics is to maintain that businesses are under obligation to be moral beyond what the law requires. This position is disputed. I begin by criticizing the view that morality in business can be derived from the profit motivation. The problem with this approach is that it either confines morality to what at that time will yield a profit, or it wrongly assumes that consumers will insist on moral business practices. Next, the position is attacked that there are specific business-related moral obligations beyond what the law requires. This position fails because such supra-legal obligations appear optional to the business person, and it is unreasonable to expect businesses to perform duties which appear optional. Finally, it is argued that business-related moral obligations are restricted to the moral norms which are already contained in the law. This view can be supported either by a legal positivist and contractarian theory of moral obligation, or by a criterion of moral obligation which entails that a moral principle must have majority endorsement within a cultural context. It is noted in conclusion that business ethics should not be viewed as a quest for independent moral principles, but instead should be seen as part of a pre-legislative or pre-regulatory dialog.