Chapter Overview

Chapter seven examines a variety of ethical issues having to with production and pricing. Using examples drawn from the automobile industry, it traces the development of liability for product harms beginning with the "let the buyer beware" concept that assigned liability to consumers up to the current strict products liability doctrine that holds business responsible even for harms not attributable to negligence.

An overview of ethical issues in marketing is presented, focusing on the meanings of voluntary and informed consent, on the concern with the alleged benefits obtained through market exchanges, and on the social values that must be part of any ethical analysis of marketing. The concept of negligence is explored in great detail, and the arguments for and against the strict products liability doctrine are debated.

Finally, the chapter examines the ethics of pricing mechanisms that operate in an economic exchange, again, in the light of the values of autonomy and mutual benefit to the parties involved, and considers as well the ethical issues these mechanisms generate with respect to parties that are external to that exchange.

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