Last week, Jeremy Levy argued that “single producer-to-consumer transactions” should be morality-free zones where “our sense of social responsibility shouldn’t matter” (Not Buying It, 07/19/2009). Whether or not Americans have a responsibility to purchase American cars, Levy’s principle goes too far. What about the exchange of cash for a product immunizes participants from the ethical consequences of their actions?
Levy’s claim that consumers should maximize their own personal benefit in any transaction is itself a kind of ethical principle — and a selfish one at that. The issue isn’t whether or not ethics should govern our economic behavior, but which ethics should influence our decisions.
Daniel Trump
Law School Student
Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu or click on ‘Letter to the editor.’