Henk van Luijk A continuing debate Business life and ethics have always
had an uneasy relationship. Together they feel uncomfortable, separated
from each other they feel truncated. But, in more ways than one they
need each other. For, to paraphrase a famous expression of the
philosopher Kant: business without an ethical orientation is blind, and
ethics without business experience is void. There are two different
reasons for this uneasy relationship, a moral and an economic one.
Business activities are essentially motivated by the striving for
profit, whereas ethical considerations are marked by an equal attention
given to the interests of all relevant others. This is the moral reason.
The economic reason is implied in the conviction that the market
constitutes a morally neutral zone, or, to put it positively, that
market participants take care not only of themselves but also of the
general welfare by behaving in accordance with market rules and
regulations. Both reaso s playa role in discussions on the rela- tion
between business and ethics. For several decades, and more specifically
since the beginning of the eighties, we have witnessed a continuing
debate concerning the social responsibility of business, the content and
extension of that responsibility and its moral and ideological basis.
Positions are defended by business representatives and academics alike,
under similar such headings as ' social responsibility of business' or
'corporate responsibility', 'business ethics', 'corporate ethics' or
'market morality'. Two, perhaps three, clusters of questions present
themselves as particularly urgent.
