Sherron. L. Moore
Professor Diane McGeehan
Business Ethics
February 2, 2013
Occupy Wall Street is a movement that started in New York in 2011. The movement was started as a means to rise up against political and economic corruption and injustices. There slogan “We are the 99%” refers to how the rich are the 1% and everyone else is paying the price for the mistakes and selfishness of the 1%. Some of the moral and economic implications are fairness, care and loyalty. Fairness in that the Government should be run by the people instead of being influenced by the big corporations. I saw a sign from one of the Occupy Wall Street protesters that said “Private Ownership of Industry is Theft”, that is an example of the fairness the movement is fighting for. The lack of proper education and healthcare, the bailout of the banks and the mortgage crisis are all examples of some of the economic implications of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. The Occupy Wall Street Movement seems to support the utilitarian theory. Utilitarianism is the moral doctrine that we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions. (William Shaw, Business Ethics, pg. 53) Utilitarians assess the rightness or wrongness of an action. They aren’t saying all corporations are wrong in what they do, they are saying Corporations should look at their operations for the greater good of the people. Not operate based on greed and getting rich while the people buying your products and supporting your businesses get poorer.
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