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What gives the state's law making capacity the magical ability to trump morality and ethics? There exist laws so hideous and offensive to human dignity, that t
by EthanHeilman 13y ago
What gives the state's law making capacity the magical ability to trump morality and ethics?
There exist laws so hideous and offensive to human dignity, that they should never be obeyed.
EDITED: I am not talking about the google privacy case specifically, previous posts in this thread had widened the scope beyond this point.
- chris_wot 13y agoAgreed. If you feel that you cannot obey those laws, you should cease doing business in that country.
- EthanHeilman 13y agoWhat if that is the sole country you do business in and you are legally forbidden from closing your business (as can happen to a business that produces essential war materials)? The problem that is that companies are not above the law, but they are even less above ethics. The primary reason that we argue that companies should follow the law is ethics and when ethics and the law are in conflict ethics always trumps the law.
- chris_wot 13y agoThat's an extreme situation. I would disobey this law.
- wavefunction 13y agoYou're running a hypothetical munitions factory whose sole client is the government and you're worrying about the ethics and morality of having to comply with the laws of that country? Let's worry about the morals and ethics of operating that munitions factory before we get concerned with "unjust" laws.
- ryguytilidie 13y agoFair enough to make this argument, but I wouldn't call a fine for violating privacy laws as an example of "laws so hideous and offensive to human dignity, that they should never be obeyed." by any means...