Autonomy

Since the early 1970s, the concept of autonomy has become increasingly important within discussions of business ethics. For example, it plays a key role in discussions of the ethics of advertising, where much of the debate centers around the question of whether or not persuasive advertising undermines consumer autonomy. It also plays a key role in discussions of the morality of sweatshops, where it is often alleged that the use of sweatshops is unethical insofar as the labor conditions that exist within them evince a failure on the part of their owners fully to respect the autonomy of their employees. Respect for autonomy also plays a key role in grounding ethical objections to fraud, coercion, and even bluffing in business situations. More recently, persons have ...