(August 5, 2022 at 5:02 pm)John 6IX Breezy Wrote:(August 5, 2022 at 4:37 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: If a merchant or producer is engaging in practices a consumer disagrees with, I should think the consumer would be ethically obligated to withhold their patronage.
Do you see that as a symbolic protest? Or do you see every purchase as containing a hidden ethical transaction, such that you are a direct sponsor or accomplice of the merchants' practices?
It’s clearly more than symbolic. Since ethics is concerned with right/wrong behaviour, it would be unethical to patronize a merchant you feel is engaging in wrong practices.
Of COURSE you’re sponsoring a merchant’s practices is you deal with them. Suppose you like, say, fish and chips, Susan’s Chip Shop is your absolute favourite. At some point, you learn that Susan is using the proceeds from her restaurant to finance her dog-fighting ring, a practice you find morally repugnant. If you continue to buy your lunch from Susan, you’re knowingly supporting a practice to which you’re ethically opposed.
Same with fashion - if you buy your trainers from a company you know uses child labour, you’re supporting it.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
