ABSTRACT
Conflicts of interest, in which someone will clearly gain from a decision over which they have control, remains a clear ethical problem and one well-established as an issue that individuals and organizations must disclose and protect against. Less clearly defined are conflicts of commitment, when professionals, like people in general, have divided loyalties. The ethics of loyalty can help us decide what path to take in such situations by arguing that communities come before individuals and that noble causes come before personal gain, which suggests that, when conflicted, we should decide based on what is the right thing to do for the greatest number over the longest term.
