Aude Sapere: How do you measure evil?

You might find it interesting to know that I'm currently taking a class called Business Ethics. Yeah, yeah, it sounds like an oxymoron, blah blah blah. While I don't believe that in my heart of hearts, I'm having the most difficult time believing it tonight. As part of the class assignment, I have to write a paper about an ethical dilemma faced by a business and evaluate it in light of various ethical frameworks. Doing the research for which company and which ethical dilemma to discuss has been one of the most disheartening endeavors I have faced this semester. Here's a taste of what I've found (click on the company name for the full story):

Chiquita -- In 2003, the banana company admitted to making $1.7 million in "protection payments" to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a U.S.-recognized terrorist group that were rivals of the better-known FARC terrorist group. Chiquita's punishment as levied by the U.S. government? A paltry $25 million fine. Last year, Chiquita recorded gross income of $491 million.

Exxon Mobil -- Among its many sins, Mobil was allegedly involved in the capture, torture and murder of villagers in Aceh, Indonesia, back in the 1990s. At least twelve mass graves have been dug up and an estimated 2,000 Acehnese torture victims have been buried in the Aceh area since 1990. BusinessWeek did an expose in 1998 and I think the case still is not settled. Exxon posted gross income of $145 billion last year.

Coca-Cola -- Coke and one of its bottling subsidiaries is accused in the complicity of the murder of union members and the ongoing intimidation of union members and of the suppression of union activity in Colombia. This came to light in 2005. That's only 3 years ago. Coke's 2007 gross income was $18.4 billion

Blue Hippo -- In my own backyard, this computer selling company took advantage of poor people with bad credit, offering a "deal" that violated a whole bunch of FTC regulations, including the Truth in Lending Act and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. They settled with the FTC last month with a $5 million payment to consumers -- but face a class-action lawsuit and further probes in other states. It continues to exist today.

Who ARE these people?! At what point does your head and conscience tell you that it's okay to pay off militant terrorist groups? How do you find a team of people who go along with a plan to fleece vulnerable people? And how do we (me included), as consumers, continue to blissfully ignore these gross violations in exchange for cheap gas, cheap food, cheap computers and carbonated sugar water?

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