Discussion Questions for Week 14 Readings (561.2 only):
1) In John Hood's The Heroic Enterprise, the author quotes Al Gore as saying:
We can prosper by leading the environmental revolution and producing for the world marketplace the new products and technologies that foster economic progress without environmental destruction.Do you agree or disagree that business' most important contribution to solving environmental problems will be innovation? Do you believe that firms will have an incentive to innovate when faced with rising costs of waste disposal or lost customer revenue?2) Ben & Jerry's advances the notion of `linked prosperity', as described in David Boller's Aiming Higher. This concept recognizes an interconnection between economic well-being and social factors, and is the basis for Ben & Jerrys `two part bottom line'.
Do you think it is possible for businesses to universally accept such a concept without regulation? Or do you feel that most businesses agree with Ford's special recycling coordinator's position: "Ford's position is that we will do everything we can to use recycled materials in our cars, but they can't cost more than virgin and they must perform as well as virgin."? Is it possible for corporations to advance both shareholder and stakeholder values at the same time?
3) In The Armchair Economist, Steven Landsburg explains why he is not an environmentalist. He feels that those who try and force him to recycle are infringing on his rights. To Landsburg, his time and the luxury of not sorting through his trash are more valuable than recycling. He believes that if we want more trees planted, we should use up the existing ones quicker to facilitate the new plantings. Recycling would inhibit this. Regarding responsibilities, Landsburg states:
Do I agree that with privilege comes responsibility? The answer is no. I believe that responsibilities arise when one undertakes them voluntarily. I also believe that in the absence of explicit contracts, people who lecture other people on their 'responsibilities' are almost always up to no good.How would someone who believes in social contract theory react to this statement? A utilitarian?4) Do you believe in land ethics (a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community)? Do you think that resources have a right to continued existence? In your everyday life, do you go out of your way to try and preserve the earth through recycling? Do you feel that businesses have a responsibility to do so?
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