Buying and Selling

We spend a large fraction of our lives buying and selling, and this chapter addresses some of the ethical dilemmas that arise. They deal with damaged rental property, supermarket ethics, the ethics of smartphone manufacture, a salesperson’s honesty with customers, marketing that misleads, celebrity endorsements, downgrading quality to cut production costs, subprime mortgage lending, and marketing pharmaceuticals. These analyses provide a springboard for discussions of larger issues such as consumer activism, the role of emotions in decision-making, cultural factors, and the adage caveat emptor, or “let the buyer beware.”