Ethical Relativism

It has often been argued that all cultures have an intense interest in the survival of their society and/or culture; however, I believe it goes beyond that. Each individual society wants to see their culture and their people thrive. This is where the major problem arises with ethics in business relations on the world stage. In a world where countries seem to abide by the concept of survival of the fittest, it is difficult to get Cultural Relativism and Ethical Relativism to coincide. As globalization and international dependency have begun to escalate, disputes over these issues have also intensified.

Because each culture differs greatly in perception of right and wrong in terms of ethics and human rights, it is nearly impossible to establish any sort of international code of conduct. For instance, consider the realms of crime and punishment. In the United States, the judicial system would typically punish a less severe crime with a fine or community service, judicial systems in various Asian countries would punish people with beatings and lashings. While we, as Americans, would consider this to be extremely unethical and inappropriate, those citizens perceive it as the norm or the standard in such an instance. Who, however, is in the right? Can both be right or is one option better for humankind as a whole than the other?

The well-respected philosopher Kant describes the impact of globalization on business affairs in India, warning that there is terrible danger that "the self-serving Western societies put down the developing countries as banal, corrupt or worse in order to improve the West's own image." Personally, I would have to agree. Many experts have become very harsh in their judgment of Western societies on the world stage. Too often, developing nations are taken advantage of. Large corporations essentially invade developing nations in the pursuit to exploit them for valuable resources and inexpensive labor.

Consider, for instance, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Huge American corporations have continuously exploited the area around the Congo River basin for the people and the resources that have existed there for over 20,000 years. As a result, a great deal of plants, animals, and nonrenewable resources are becoming few and far between. Consequently, these actions are taking a tremendous toll on the environment and the people who inhabit the area. In a case like this, where do ethics come into play?