Summary:
Heinz’ wife is dying of cancer. He learned about the new drug that might save his wife but was unable to raise enough money despite tremendous effort. He asked the inventor of the drug to sell it for a cheaper price to which the latter declined. This prompted Heinz to break in to the inventor’s drugstore in an attempt to steal the drug. Should Heinz steal the drug or not?
Analysis:
Is it necessary to do a little evil to do greater good? This is one of the oldest questions that faced humanity. When a person is confronted by a dilemma, should he be governed by his morality or by reason? This is the question that haunted Heinz -- whether or not he should steal the drug that could save the life of his beloved wife, knowing that the drug is overpriced.
In our attempt to help Heinz answer his question, it should be pointed out that our morality is derived from economy, and economy is derived from profit.This means that we base our morality on the dictates of the rich and powerful people who manipulate every aspect of the “free” market. But is this reasonable at all? According to John Boatright, the present model of economy is the Moral Manager Model of Business Ethics (Hendry 537).
According to Boatright, our economic morality is plagued with three primary problems. First, he argued that the high ranking officials of a company are the cause of the defeat of morality on its fight against profit. Second, there is a lack trickle-down effect from the CEOs towards the mass workers where income can be evenly distributed. Lastly, workers and business owners alike are mere slave of the economy. We are no longer concerned about helping each other but rather helping ourselves.
Given the present situation where money is everything, should people like Heinz make a difference? Should he commit an act that is considered devious by the rich and powerful such as the inventor of the cure for cancer? Cynthia Cooper thinks he should.
Cynthia Cooper, the WorldCom whistleblower and internationally recognized expert on ethics and leadership. Cooper, the former vice president of audit in the said company, publicized the company fraud of $3.8 billion, the largest ever in the history. In her talk in Grafton-Stovall Theatre, she emphasized the importance of ethics and the effect of its absence (Girard). Everyone has a choice to make, she said. Every immoral decision that we make can cause ripple effect that can destroy the lives of others or on the other hand become a catalyst that can topple even the mightiest people.
Recommendations:
If I were Heinz, I would warn the public about the intentions of the inventor to profit himself regardless of the consequence.
In our present society, Heinz would be considered a criminal. His time in jail would be inevitable. I recommend that he should not be ashamed of himself. Instead, use his jail time to his advantage and write about it.
Implications:
Both my recommendation can only have one major implication, which is the betterment of society. People will realize that we are slaves of money and that has to stop. The most drastic effect I see is that we will begin to act like humans and start looking after each other. Wage war against poverty, not against poor people. Cure disease instead of treating it, billing the patient in the process.
Works Cited
Hendry, John. Morality and Markets: A Response to Boatright. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Print
Girard, Rosemarie. “Cooper demonstrates power of choice in business ethics.” James Madison University. Accessed on February 22, 2016 <http://www.jmu.edu/news/2013/11/14-cooper-demonstrates-power-of-choice-in-business-ethics.shtml#sthash.x7MWSePx.dpuf>.
