GMAT考试写作指导：Issue写作范文七十

　　70. The speaker asserts that in creating and marketing products, companies act

　　ethically merely by not violating any laws. Although the speakers position is not

　　wholly insupportable, far more compelling arguments can be made for holding

　　businesses to higher ethical standards than those required by the letter of the law.

　　On the one hand, two colorable arguments can be made for holding business only

　　to legal standards of conduct. First, imposing a higher ethical duty can actual harm

　　consumers in the long term. Compliance with high ethical standards can be costly for

　　business, thereby lowering profits and, in turn, impeding a companys ability to create

　　jobs , keep prices low , and so forth. Second, limited

　　accountability is consistent with the buyer beware principle that permeates our laws

　　of contracts and torts, as well as our notion in civil procedure that plaintiffs carry the

　　burden or proving damage. In other words, the onus should be on consumers to protect

　　themselves, not on companies to protect consumers.

　　On the other hand. several convincing arguments can be made for holding

　　business to a higher ethical standard. First, in many cases government regulations that

　　protect consumers lag behind advances in technology. A new marketing technique made

　　possible by. internet technology may be unethical but nevertheless might not be

　　proscribed by the letter of the laws which predated the Internet. Second, enforceability

　　might not extend beyond geographic borders. Consider, for example, the case of

　　dumping. When products fail to comply with U.S. regulations, American companies

　　frequently market―or dump―such products in third-world countries where

　　consumer-protection laws are virtually nonexistent. Third, moral principles form the

　　basis of government regulation and are, therefore, more fundamental than the law.

　　In the final analysis, white overburdening businesses with obligations to

　　consumers may not be a good idea in the extreme, our regulatory system is not as

　　effective as it should be. Therefore, businesses should adhere to a higher standard of

　　ethics in creating and marketing products than what is required by the letter of the law.