Business and

Economics
Ethics

Session 3

Prof. Marek Hudon

Academic Year 2016-2017

1
When Moral Responsibility (Velasquez)?

Did they act of

their own free will
(no external Did they cause/
abuse, internal helped it or fail to
abuse)? prevent something
avoilable?

1. Causality
3. Deliberate

2. Knowledge/ Did they know what

ignorance they were doing?

2
 Utilitarianism

Concerns:
Some benefits & costs might be hard to measure in
precise, non-controversial ways
Example: value of a human life
Response of utilitarianism: everything can be
monetarised
Utilitarianism might appear to justify unethical
conduct: the ends justify the means
Example: familly
Choices, rankings can change with time

3
 Case study: Caltex (pp. 58-60) (1)

Context:
South Africa
Since 1948: White-only National Party Apartheid
No vote, no union, nor right to freedom
Caltex
Jointly hold by Texaco and Standard Oil
80s: Started oil rafineries in South Africa (SA)
Taxes and part of profits to SA governments

4
 Case study: Caltex (2): Actors
Shareholders Managers
resolution
* Activities help
* Break relations Black workers
with SA (income increase, other
government or benefits)

* Leave the country * Withdraw would

endanger them

READ p . 74

What do you think? Should they leave? 5

 Case study: Caltex (2): Actors
Managers
If company leaves,
Welfare of workers
would decrease
* Activities help
Utility Black workers
(income increase, other
benefits)
Special care of their
workers; cannot * Withdraw would
abandon them endanger them

6
 Case study: Caltex (2): Actors
Shareholders Managers
resolution
* Activities help
* Break relations Black workers
with SA (income increase, other
government or benefits)

* Leave the country * Withdraw would

endanger them

READ p . 74

7
 Back to Caltex (3): Arguments
Shareholders
resolution Unjust since
burdens on Blacks
not beard by Whites
* Break relations
with SA
government or
* Leave the country Violates Blacks civil
and political rights

8
 2. Rights

Rights Principle: The morally correct action is

the one that you have a moral right to do, that
does not infringe on the moral rights of others,
and that furthers the moral rights of others.
Focus: the means (methods); not the result

9
 Rights

Definition: individuals entitlement to something

Legal (juridiction) & Moral (as human)
Positive & Negative
Rights are entitlements
Example: Right to free speech
Example: Right to freedom of religion
Example: Right to an education

10
 Conflicting rights: HIV

25 million+ 30 million+
died living with
of AIDS since It in 2010
1981 (20 in
Africa)

Source: UN

11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSpTdO4FBZI&feature=related
What to do about it? Debates..
 What to do about it? One suggestion
Patents create inherently unjust monopolies and
block knowledge transfer" that could save so many
lives around the world. It is time to rewrite the rules
of intellectual property rights, a pillar of the world
trade system, critics like Jabbar argue. "In the
context of HIV and AIDS, we need a new concept of
people's property rights instead of intellectual
property rights.
Stiglitz suggests setting up a fund to pay fees to
scientists who come up with cures for key diseases -
after which the drugs would go into the public
domain instead of being 'owned' by pharmaceutical
companies. Source: Son (2009) 13
 Rights, Duties, & Interests

Function of rights: to
protect interests
Autonomy
Equality

Du
ts
Example: Free speech

gh

tie
Example: Freedom of

Ri
religion

s
Example: Education
Rights create duties
Belief that is the right way
for all to behave
Interests

14
 Conflicting rights
Positive vs. Negative rights

What moral rights do people have?

Most famous author: Kant!

Pure reason
(ability to act rationally)
15
 Most famous theory: Kantian & its application to
Caltex
Reversability: Would Whites accept this situation
for them?
How would you like in their place?

Universability: Would everyone act on ?

What if everybody did that?

1st formulation 16
Rationale

Source: Shultz
17
Nuclear bombs (energy)
 Example of economic and social right

Right to credit
(2006)?
 Implication in terms of global justice?
Two approaches of financial systems

Bargaining approach - Moral (regulatory)

Market-based : both approach
parties should find an Related to the socio-
interest ; Win-win (no economic circumstances
reference to
bargaining powers): Single possibility that a
credit right is needed!
Right would implicitly
constrain one of the
two actors

Libertarian vision (appropriation or free transfer)

 A Human Right to Credit? Pros
Credit is central in
welfare societies
(Europe or US):
what if we had to
self-finance?
Cooperatives?

Access to
credit
related to
Opposable right: economic
French discussion developmen
on Droit au t (new WB
logement, create an databases) Credit right
institution that would would also
be responsible help for other
rights (shelter,
food etc.)
 A Human Right to Credit? Cons

Arguments AGAINST a right to credit:

No need to issue an additional right if other rights
correctly applied (mirror of other inequalities/ spurious)
Right is given (e.g. education, food), not a bilateral
relationship
Credit for productive activities BUT could be
consumption (overindebtedness) & borrower
responsible for credit use
Limits to the list of rights: Credit as important as
education?
Manifesto (allocation of duties & realism: feasability of
the goal) right Pogge (2002)
 How to deal with these issues? Rights-goal

Rights-goal approach (Sen + Eco-social

covenant):
Goals to reach
No obligation of direct application
Yearly evaluation
Work for an institutional order
Address the concerns & aspirations
But is it still a human right?
 Another example of Kantian application

Five people waiting for transplant

Healthy person arrives at the hospital ; his
organs could save
Utilitarianism: ethical to kill him
Kant: killing the healthy patient would be using a
person as a means to an end

Something must be good in itself, without

considering the consequences
2nd formulation 24
 Child Labor: a Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJiOSu
G9gZ4
Child labor: Is there a price for education?

Should children work?

Should children work to pay their
education?
Can children work to pay their
education when low quality of
education?
Programme: work in morning;
education in the afternoon
Human right to education vs.
More utility? 26
And some words..
 Resolve Conflict Among Rights
But, when rights are in conflict, how
should we resolve those conflicts
among rights? Clear enough?

Du
ts
Rights protect interests and create

gh
duties

tie
Ri
When rights conflict:

s
Examine competing interests
Decide which interest is more
important
Give priority to right that protects Interests
more important interest

28
 Rights vs. Efficiency? Example of water

30 September 2010: UN Human Rights Council

has by consensus adopted a resolution affirming
that water and sanitation are human rights.
justiciable and enforceable
More efficient when we pay? Privatization of
public good? Private vs. Common goods (Ostrom)

29
 Disagreement?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
dMA0_cLdeE
 What about Europe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhZcVRRMkbc