The Ethical Role of Business
Corporations were traditionally considered to be ethically neutral actors. This was partially a reflection of economic theory which assumed that through operating in an efficient market businesses would act as a wind vane of consumer preference and, therefore, should not have an ethical position of their own. This was tenable in a world where the state was far more powerful than business; however, in the modern era of powerful multinational corporations this assumption is no longer viable.
Consumers, governments, international organizations (UN, OECD) and NGOs increasingly hold business to account in terms of its ethical practices. What would be acceptable in laissez faire economics - such as the use of sweat shops in developing countries, or "facilitation payments" to undemocratic regimes, or the reward structures for bank employees in developed democracies -- is seen as increasingly unacceptable internationally.
