Consider again Milton Friedman’s article.
1. What does Friedman mean by “ethical custom”?
2. If the laws of the society are limiting the company’s profitability, would the company be within its rights to disobey the law?
3. What if the law is “on the books,” but the company could count on a lack of enforcement from state officials who were overworked and underpaid? Should the company limit its profits? Suppose that it could save money by discharging a pollutant into a nearby river, adversely affecting fish and, potentially, drinking water supplies for downstream municipalities. In polluting against laws that aren’t enforced, is it still acting “within the rules of the game”? What if almost all other companies in the industry were saving money by doing similar acts?
Trending now
This is a popular solution!
Step by step
Solved in 3 steps
