Abstract
Many scholars and activists favor banning illicit businesses, especially given that such businesses constitute a large part of the global economy. But these businesses are commonly operated as if they are subject only to the ethical norms their management chooses to recognize, and as a result they sometimes harm innocent people. This can happen in part because there are no effective legal constraints on illicit businesses, and in part because it seems theoretically impossible to dispose definitively of arguments that support moral relativism. Progress is being made, however, towards a “second best” arrangement consisting of widespread institutional agreements regarding ethical norms. This development might eventually enable us to transcend moral relativism in some respects. Indeed, although some business ethicists who examine illicit business practices accept moral relativism, others attempt to surmount it. The latters’ endeavor, I show, is cross-cultural in nature in that it involves businesses that are deemed illicit in at least one but not every culture. I then recall some traditional solutions and their limits: ideological teachings are culture-specific, hence both temporally and spatially limited; legal constraints, though potentially helpful, are too diverse hence often narrow in reach. Especially problematic are defense industry businesses, which are inherently transcultural and, though uniquely harmful, are not effectively banned in any culture. Harm to quality of life (QoL) can, however, be measured. So I recommend institutional support for international human rights tied to QoL data as a workable way to counter moral relativism regarding illicit businesses.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allison, R. E. (2004). Circles within a circle: The condition for the possibility of ethical business institutions within a market system. Journal of Business Ethics, 53(1–2), 17–28.
Argandoña, A. (2007). The United Nations convention against corruption and its impact on international companies. Journal of Business Ethics, 74(4), 481–496.
Bagus, P., & Howden, D. (2009). The legitimacy of loan maturity mismatching: A risky but not fraudulent undertaking. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(3), 399–406.
Barnett, W., & Block, W. E. (2009). Time deposits, dimensions, and fraud. Journal of Business Ethics, 88(4), 711–716.
Bishara, N. D., & Schipani, C. A. (2009). Strengthening the ties that bind: Preventing corruption in the executive suite. Journal of Business Ethics, 88, 765–780.
Blank, J., & Staudt, N. (2012). Corporate shams. New York University Law Review, 87, forthcoming. http://www.internationaltaxreview.com/pdfs/Corporate_Shams.pdf. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Burleigh, M. (2007). Sacred causes: The clash of religion and politics, from the great war to the war on terror. New York: Harper Collins.
Byrne, E. F. (1968). Probability and opinion: A study in the medieval presuppositions of post-medieval theories of probability. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
Byrne, E. F. (1990). Work, Inc.: A philosophical inquiry. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Byrne, E. F. (2010). The U.S. military–industrial complex is circumstantially unethical. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(2), 153–165.
Byrne, E. F. (2011a). Secular and religious: An American quest for coexistence. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
Byrne, E. F. (2011b). Review of H. Shue and D. Rodin, eds., Preemption: Military action and moral justification (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), in Michigan War Studies Review 2011-004, online at http://MiWSR.com. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Byrne, E. F. (2011c). Business ethics should study illicit businesses: To advance respect for human rights. Journal of Business Ethics, 103(4), 497–509.
Byrne, E. F. (2012). Review of W. R. Nester, Haunted victory: The American crusade to destroy Saddam and impose democracy on Iraq (Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2012), in Michigan War Studies Review 2012-048, online at http://MiWSR.com. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Cachanosky, N. (2011). A comment on Barnett and Block on time deposits and Bagus and Howden on loan maturity mismatching. Journal of Business Ethics, 104(2), 219–221.
Chen, M.-F., Pan, C.-T., & Pan, M.-C. (2009). The joint moderating impact of moral intensity and moral judgment on consumer’s use intention of pirated software. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(3), 361–373.
Collins, J. D., Uhlenbruck, K., & Rodriguez, P. (2009). Why firms engage in corruption: A top management perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(1), 89–108.
Cronan, T. P., & Al-Rafee, S. (2008). Factors that influence the intention to pirate software and media. Journal of Business Ethics, 78(4), 527–545.
De Roeck, K., & Delobbe, N. (2012). Do environmental CSR initiatives serve organizations’ legitimacy in the oil industry? Exploring employees’ reactions through organizational identification theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 110(4), 397–412.
Dela Rama, M. (2012). Corporate governance and corruption: Ethical dilemmas of Asian Business Groups. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(4), 501–519.
Donaldson, T., & Dunfee, T. W. (1999). Ties that bind: A social contracts approach to business ethics. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Donnelly, J. (1982). Human rights as natural rights. Human Rights Quarterly, 4(3), 391–405.
Donnelly, J. (2003). Universal human rights in theory and practice. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Douglass, J. W. (2008). JFK and the unspeakable: Why he died and why it matters. New York: Simon & Schuster Touchstone.
Drum, P. (2011). Natural rights, morality, and the law. Beijing Law Review, 2, 25–31.
Du, S., & Vieira, E. T., Jr. (2012). Striving for legitimacy through corporate social responsibility: Insights from oil companies. Journal of Business Ethics, 110(4), 413–427.
Easley, R. F. (2005). Ethical issues in the music industry response to innovation and piracy. Journal of Business Ethics, 62(2), 163–168.
Eicher, S. (Ed.). (2009). Corruption in international business: The challenge of cultural and legal diversity. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Gower.
Etzioni, A. (1997). Cross-cultural judgments: The next steps. Journal of Social Philosophy, 28(3), 5–15.
Feinstein, A. (2011). The shadow world: Inside the global arms trade. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Follesdal, A., & Pogge, T. (2005). Real world justice: grounds, principles, human rights, and social institutions. Dordrecht: Springer.
Gangarosa, R. E., Vandall, F. J., & Willis, B. M. (1994). Suits by public hospitals to recover expenditures for the treatment of disease, injury and disability caused by tobacco and alcohol. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 22(1), 81–139.
Gao, Y. (2011). Government intervention, perceived benefit, and bribery of firms in transitional China. Journal of Business Ethics, 104(2), 175–184.
Gopnik, A. (2012). The caging of America: Why do we lock up so many people? The New Yorker, Jan. 30, 72–77.
Gowans, C. W. (2007). Review of D. B. Wong, Natural moralities: A defense of pluralistic relativism (Oxford University Press, 2006), in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/25269-natural-moralities-a-defense-of-pluralistic-relativism/. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Gowans, C. W. (2012). Moral relativism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2012 Edition), ed. E. N. Zalta. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2012/entries/moral-relativism/. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Greenwald, G. (2011). With liberty and justice for some: How the law is used to destroy equality and protect the powerful. New York: Henry Holt and Company Metropolitan Books.
Hindman, H. D., & Smith, C. G. (1999). Cross-cultural ethics and the child labor problem. Journal of Business Ethics, 19(1), 21–33.
Hong, H., & Kacperczyk, M. (2009). The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets. Journal of Financial Economics, 93, 15–36.
Hustead, B. W. (2002). Culture and international anti-corruption agreements in Latin America. Journal of Business Ethics, 37(4), 413–422.
Illicit Trade (n.d.) What is illicit trade? http://www.illicittrade.org/view_articles.php?id=12&ids=55. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Janney, J. J., Dess, G., & Farlani, V. (2009). Glass houses? Market reactions to firms joining the UN global compact. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(3), 407-423.
Jo, H., & Na, H. (2012). Does CSR reduce firm risk? Evidence from controversial industry sectors. Journal of Business Ethics, 110(4), 441–456.
Johnson, M. T. (2011). Towards the development of objective, universal criteria of cultural evaluation: The challenge posed by anti-foundationalism. Culturalism and romanticism. Social Indicators Research, 102(2), 275–296.
Kaikati, J. G., Sullivan, G. M., Virgo, J. M., Carr, T. R., & Virgo, K. S. (2000). The price of international business morality: Twenty years under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Journal of Business Ethics, 26(3), 213–222.
Kell, G. (2005). The global compact: Selected experiences and reflections. Journal of Business Ethics, 59(1-2), 69-79.
Kington, T. (2008). Shopkeepers revolt against Sicilian Mafia. The Guardian (March 8).
Kington, T. (2012). Fears over Sicily’s future as euro flow stops and bankruptcy looms. The Guardian (July 21).
Kuper, A. (2005). Redistributing responsibilities—The UN Global Compact with corporations. In A. Follesdal & T. Pogge (Eds.), Real world justice: Grounds, principles, human rights, and social institutions (pp. 359–380). Arlington, VA: Ashoka Innovators for the Public.
Land, K. C., Michalos, A. C., & Sirgy, M. J. (Eds.). (2012). Handbook of social indicators and quality of life research. Dordrecht: Springer.
MacIntyre, A. (1988). Whose justice? Which rationality?. Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame University Press.
Margolis, J. (1996). Life without principles: Reconciling theory and practice. Cambridge: Blackwell.
Margolis, J. (2004). Moral Philosophy after 9/11. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
Marshall, M. G. (2002). Measuring the societal impact of war. In F. O. Hampson & D. M. Malone (Eds.), From reaction to conflict prevention: Opportunities for the UN system. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
McCarthy, D. J., Puffer, S. M., Dunlap, D. R., & Jaeger, A. M. (2012). A stakeholder approach to the ethicality of BRIC-firm managers’ use of favors. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(1), 27–38.
Menasse, S. (n.d.) Beyond good and evil—Back to good and bad. http://www.academia.edu/275063/Beyond_Good_and_Evil_-_Back_to-Good_and_Bad. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Mertens, T. (2005). International or global justice? Evaluating the global approach. In Follesdal & Pogge (cited above) (pp. 85–102).
Michalos, A. C. (2011). What did Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi get right and what did they get wrong? Social Indicators Research, 102(1), 117–129.
Michalos, A. C. (Ed.) (2013, forthcoming). Encyclopedia of Quality of Life Research. Dordrecht: Springer.
Millington, A., Eberhardt, M., & Wilkinson, B. (2005). Gift giving, guanxi and illicit payments in buyer–supplier relations in China: Analysing the experience of UK companies. Journal of Business Ethics, 57(3), 255–268.
Møller, V., Huschka, D., & Michalos, A. C. (Eds). (2008). Barometers of quality of life around the globe. Social Indicators Research Series, vol. 33. Dordrecht: Springer
Murdock, H. (2012). In Niger Delta, Black Market Oil Booms. Voice of America (June 28). http://www.voanews.com/content/nigeria_bunkering_niger_delta_oil_market/133746.html. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Nadeau, B. (2007). Mob-free shopping. The Daily Beast (Dec. 5). http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/12/05/mob-free-shop. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Naím, M. (2005). Illicit: How smugglers, traffickers, and copycats are hijacking the global economy. New York: Doubleday.
Naylor, R. T. (2004). Wages of crime: Black markets, illegal finance, and the underworld economy. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Noll, H.-H. (2011). The Stiglitz–Sen–Fitoussi report: Old wine in new skins? Views from a social indicators perspective. Social Indicators Research, 102(1), 111–116.
Noll, H.-H. (n.d.). Social indicators and social reporting: The international experience. Canadian Council on Social Development. http://www.ccsd.ca/noll1.html and http://www.ccsd.ca/noll2.html. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Nussbaum, M. (1997). Capabilities and human rights. Fordham Law Review, 66(2), 273–300.
Pedigo, K. L., & Marshall, V. (2009). Bribery: Australian managers’ experiences and responses when operating in international markets. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(1), 59–74.
Perry, M. T. (1997). Are human rights universal? The relativist challenge and related matters. Human Rights Quarterly, 19(3), 461–509.
Perry, M. J. (2004). The morality of human rights: A nonreligious ground? Emory Law Journal, 54(5), 97–150.
Phau, I., & Ng, J. (2010). Predictors of usage intentions of pirated software. Journal of Business Ethics, 94(1), 23–37.
Preuss, L., & Brown, D. (2012). Business policies on human rights: An analysis of their content and prevalence among FTSE 100 firms. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(3), 289-299.
Radin, T. J., & Calkins, M. (2006). The struggle against sweatshops: Moving toward responsible global business. Journal of Business Ethics, 66(2-3), 261-272.
Robertson, C., Gilley, K. M., & Crittenden, W. F. (2008). Trade liberalization, corruption, and software piracy. Journal of Business Ethics, 78(4), 623–634.
Rorty, R. (1979). Philosophy and the mirror of nature. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Ross, W. (2012). Nigeria’s booming illegal oil refineries. BBC News Africa (26 July). http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-Africa-18973637. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Saharso, S. (2008). Multicultural feminism: Finding our way between universalism and anti-essentialism. Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Working Paper No. 3/2008, Universität Wien, online at IPW-Working Papers-03-2008-Saharso.pdf-Adobe Reader. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Scholtens, B., & Dam, L. (2007). Cultural values and international differences in business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 75(3), 273–284.
Schwartz, M. S. (2009). “Corporate efforts to tackle corruption: An impossible task?” The contribution of Thomas Dunfee. Journal of Business Ethics, 88, 823–832.
Sen, A. (2005). Human rights and capabilities. Journal of Human Development, 6(2), 151–166.
Sigurthorsson, D. (2012). The Icelandic banking crisis: A reason to rethink CSR? Journal of Business Ethics, 111(2), 147–156.
Smith, R. (2006). The highly profitable but unethical business of publishing medical research. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 99(5), 452–456.
Song, X. (2012). Perception of corruption in 36 major Chinese Cities. Based on survey of 1,642 experts. Social Indicators Research, 109(2), 211–221.
Su, C., Mitchell, R. K., & Sirgy, M. J. (2007). Enabling Guanxi management in China: A hierarchical stakeholder model of effective Guanxi. Journal of Business Ethics, 71(3), 301–319.
Taylor, P. W. (1958). Social science and ethical relativism. Journal of Philosophy, 55(1), 32–44.
Tsai, M.-C. (2011). If GDP is not the answer, what is the question? The juncture of capabilities, institutions and measurement in the Stiglitz–Sen–Fitoussi report. Social Indicators Research, 102(1), 363–372.
UNODC. (2012). Criminals rake in $250 billion per year in counterfeit goods that pose health and safety risks to unsuspecting public. http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2012/July/criminals-rake-in-250-billion-per-year-in-counterfeit-goods-that-pose-health-and-safety-risks-to-unsuspecting-public.html. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.
Vaccaro, A. (2012). To pay or not to pay? Dynamic transparency and the fight against the mafia’s extortionists. Journal of Business Ethics, 106(1), 23–35.
Vaiman, V., Sigurjonsson, T. O., & Davidsson, P. A. (2011). Weak business culture as an antecedent of economic crisis: The case of Iceland. Journal of Business Ethics, 98(2), 259–272.
Wald, M. L. (2012). A program for green fuels has drawn counterfeiters. New York Times, Oct. 12, p. B1.
Weismann, M. F. (2009). The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: The failure of the self-regulatory model of corporate governance in the global business environment. Journal of Business Ethics, 88(4), 615–661.
Wenar, L. (2005). The nature of human rights. In A. Follesdal & T. Pogge (Eds.), Real world justice (pp. 285–293). Dordrecht: Springer.
Westermarck, E. (1932). Ethical relativity. New York: Littlefield, Adams & Company.
Whelan, G., Moon, J., & Delitzky, M. (2009). Human Rights, Transnational Corporations and Embedded Liberalism: What Chance Consensus? Journal of Business Ethics, 87, 367–383.
Whyte, W. F., & K. K. Whyte (1991). Making mondragan: The growth and dynamics of the worker cooperative complex. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press (orig. 1988).
Wong, D. E. (2006). Natural moralities: A defense of pluralistic relativism. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wu, X. (2009). Determinants of bribery in Asian firms: Evidence from the World Business Environment Survey. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(1), 59–74.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Anne Donchin, Ph.D., for her perceptive editorial insights.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Byrne, E.F. Towards Enforceable Bans on Illicit Businesses: From Moral Relativism to Human Rights. J Bus Ethics 119, 119–130 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1619-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1619-0