Do It Go

Ethics has been a philosophical science for hundreds of years, beginning with the consideration of certain acts or behaviors by such men as Socrates and Plato. What business ethics is, is just the simple applications of the concepts of morality to the world of business. What the anti-corruption agencies focus on the legal aspect of such action as bribery and money laundering, they also serve to create and maintain business relations that remain moral and ethical in nature. What is applied in the study of the philosophy of ethics, is enforced by federal law, and that is quite simply, what is right and what is wrong, on a social level as well as the economic level. One way in which agencies maintain this is by having a set of checks and balances. Businesses and those in foreign offices must keep records and accounts of their actions and their dealings, and those records must be available to the law enforcement agencies, or in the public officials case to the public.

This creates a transparency, a clear view of what is actually happening. This has an effect that is two-fold. It brings to light when inconsistencies give way to corrupt actions, and it serves to protect those who are wrongly accused of such actions. It is a way for one to keep the receipts so to speak, the evidence of no wrong doing. When companies do not follow this system through negligence or ignorance they risk being convicted of committing crimes that they actually had taken no part in. Corruption is not only an economic or a political problem, but the true heart of the matter is that it is an ethical problem. It is the use of power over one that is seen as weaker, in order to take advantage of them for personal gain. Corruption destroys the economy, it destroys society and public morale, careers, business ventures, and it can bring a country to ruin.

Tags: anti-corruption, Socrates, transparency
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