Principle-based ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Principle-based ethics - Essay Example According to the deontological principle, one ought to do an action that upholds his/her moral obligation without what the other people consider appropriate (Shaw, 2008). America is a capitalistic state whose economy is guarded by the laws of demand and supply, which determine the price of commodities in the market (Futrelle, 2012). From a deontological perspective, market forces can suddenly increase demand of commodities without a corresponding increase in supply; implying that people are demanding more than the market supply. Thus, this implies prices of commodities will automatically rise because of other factors other than those affecting demand and supply (Shaw, 2008). Thus, merchants often base their argument on this notion by arguing that they do not cause price gouging but the situation arises from the forces of demand and supply. Conversely, the principle of justice agitates for fairness to all involved entities in price gouging situations. It is widely known that if demand is more than supply, the prices of commodities will increase steadily to counter the deficit in the market. For this reason, merchants with sufficient stock during this particular time, can leverage from the situation since it is a rare case that may never happen again. Thus, according to this principle, it is fair for them to be allowed to benefit from the economic situation since it is not their making but because of market forces (Wicks, 2010). On the other hand, there are ethical principles that are against the act of price gouging because they consider such acts as selfishness that are only meant to benefit a few individuals at the opportunity cost of others (Bredeson, 2012). For instance, the principle of beneficence states that, whenever you are doing anything, the ratio of good should always supersede the quota of evil not only to one’s self but also to the entire world. Therefore, in the case of this particular situation,