Legal & Ethical Questions in the PC Audio Age

Jmcgrogan2 According to J Paul Getty, the meek will indeed inherit the earth but not the mineral rights.

Ethics are not only for the poor, who can usually least afford them but for those who seek to be ethical. It is an open invitation to any and all. None are excluded except by thier own self exception.

If one want the world to be a certain way it is often best if one acts as if that is the way it is and accept all that goes with the attempting of making the world an ethical place to live. Good, bad, and indifferent.

Hey John,

Don't even get me started on government ethics (now talk about an oxymoron) or the lack thereof! John, all I can say is that when we lose hope and look at our leaders and and point to their lack of ethics as a reason for us to justify acting unethically (in a self-preservation sort of way), we are all in trouble as, IMHO, chaos and anarchy ensues. This is a sort of moral or ethical relativism where the end justifies the means and we all know what manner of evil has been prepretated using such a theory.

While I am an imperfect person and a realist, at the risk of sounding like I am oversimplfying the answer to your question, I actually DO think that if I just do the next right thing, the rest will take care of itself.

Frank

Frank - maybe you, being a layewr, could help me with this: How is it moral and legal to rent and read book from library without paying anything to author or publisher (cutting on their profit). If book wouldn't be available in library more people would buy it in store. Do libraries pay to publishers or authors? Should I feel guilty reading book from the library? The fact that everybody is doing it and for the long time is not important - I am interested how is it legal or moral?

10-17-08: Fmpnd
While I am an imperfect person and a realist, at the risk of sounding like I am oversimplfying the answer to your question, I actually DO think that if I just do the next right thing, the rest will take care of itself.

Frank

Frank,

While I do admire you ideology, I do also feel, from what I've seen on my 48 years on this spinning ball, that you are far from a realist.....sorry. The wealthy, big business and our own government have acted unethically for my whole existance, IMHO. I have worked for a large pharmaceutical firm for over 27 years and have watched as the upper executives get free daycare, free products, cars and whatever else, while those on the lower rungs are asked to pay for everything.

One question: If stealing is legal, is it still ethical?

Cheers,
John

One question: If stealing is legal, is it still ethical?

Conversely, is breaking the law always unethical? Several examples come to mind but my favorite is this. Years ago when I was in the Air Force and would work those odd shifts that ended at 1 a.m. I would drive home an get caught at traffic lights that seemed eternally red. As there were no other cars in site I would pass through. I broke the law but never felt it was unethical.