Business Ethics
Summary
The label "business ethics" is relatively new. The customer is now very sensitive to how "ethical" a business is and thus any signs of moral wrongdoing by a business will lead to a slump in profits. This leads to a general question whether there is any incentive to be - rather than simply appearing to be - ethical.
One question that we have not yet addressed is whether capitalism - the environment needed for businesses to exist - is itself immoral? Marx, and many others, certainly thought that a system that leads us to seek after more money and more material goods will crush and stunt human flourishing.
If our function as humans involves devoting time to being healthy, being with friends and family, developing hobbies and skills, educating ourselves etc., then the "for profit" mentality of capitalism could be seen as not allowing us to fulfill this role.
The essence of capitalism is to turn nature into commodities and commodities into capital. The live green earth is transformed into dead gold bricks, with luxury items for the few and toxic slag heaps for the many. The glittering mansion overlooks a vast sprawl of shanty towns, wherein a desperate, demoralized humanity is kept in line with drugs, television, and armed force.
Perhaps then the most ethical response to business is to refuse to play the capitalist game of business in the first place and to rethink what "business" might mean and how a "business" should act.