Abstract
Drawing upon the outrageous case of a DVD series based on homeless individuals paid small sums of money to engage in degrading, violent, and dangerous acts—all for the amusement of video viewers—this chapter explores the limits of contractual ethics. Other, less outrageous cases are examined, but the ambiguous nature of morality assuming autonomous agents freely entering into commercial relationships, remains. The chapter discusses autonomy, freedom, and choice given traditional notions of agency within a game-like understanding of morality that permits that which is legal. In particular, the impact on the vulnerable of society is addressed. Because of care’s concern for context, it is offered as an important antidote for traditional business morality.
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Brophy, M. (2011). Bumfights and Care Ethics: A Contemporary Case Study. In: Hamington, M., Sander-Staudt, M. (eds) Applying Care Ethics to Business. Issues in Business Ethics, vol 34. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9307-3_11
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