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What is the responsibility of American companies and consumers for unsafe working conditions in Chinese factories?

Title endorsed in part by:

by Darrin A Yarbrough

Created on: February 03, 2009   Last Updated: April 02, 2009

In a country that so explicitly entertains a double standard with respect to philosophical ideals such as values, it hardly seems unusual to observe corporations elect to carry on activities abroad in lieu of at home.
A governmental pedagogy that literally implies "everything is legal unless you are caught," and adopts systemic parameters that suggest the ethics of business are entirely separate from the ethics of the individual, it is no wonder we have such a convoluted dilemma as the one presented by this issue. The matter would be easily reconciled if the system of values in place suggested, "do not do in business' anything you would not do to your own neighbor," or, "do unto others as you would have done unto you."

These issues are not complex; merely the matter of behavior exposes the underlying mechanism for the digression and understands that the system (American Ideology) itself is to blame.

In the eighteen hundreds, the ability to incorporate involved a rather elaborate process that included necessary approvals by state legislatures who closely looked at the itinerary and objectives of the requestor. Approval granted only after the most severe scrutiny, with most pristine intentions founded in integrity, and upon pain of the corporation's charter removal should any behavior cause this integrity to become suspect.

Remember, once incorporated, there becomes no single accountability. There is no one person who "is" the corporation. If something happens, it is the fault of the corporation and not any one person' therefore no one person' becomes accountable for any impropriety.

Realizing that this among other digressions has eroded to a point where anyone can file for articles of incorporation. Subsequently, they receive approval sometimes through the mail without even appearing before any tribunal or legislative body. This transgression remains at the request of business that over the ages is due to inquiries based upon the need for influential deep pockets to exert tremendous power while remaining free from retribution.

Corporate objectives along with business ideals have clearly indicated to American society that the objectives of business clearly digress ethically from the objectives of interpersonal action. After all, "it's just business," and "when I exercise my business objectives, I certainly do not wish to be held accountable for the consequences." "Furthermore, as a major financial factor in this nation, I remain exempt due to the priority of the American

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