#58. Should businesses do anything they can to make a profit?
The ultimate goal of every business is to make a profit. Businesses that don't turn a profit go under and dissolve, and increasing competition on national and international markets makes it more and more difficult for companies to succeed or simply stay alive. Regardless, as members of society companies are subject to laws and regulations that they must abide by, and the people who run businesses have a personal responsibility to both their employees and the community in which they do business.
It is true that stiff competition will force companies to go to extreme measures to secure profits, but these must not include illegal means. In the recent past, the enormous sums of money involved in contemporary economics have led CEOs and managers of businesses to bend the rules of the trade. For example, companies have deliberately ignored government standards for environmental pollution limits or tried to bribe government officials to allow them to bypass these regulations. Such illegal means might be possible because of the sometimes tremendous social and political influences of businesses, but they are immoral, and the government should make a point of punishing violators.
Furthermore, the managers of companies must be aware that employees and their families depend on jobs for financial security. For many businesses cutting jobs or moving jobs to another country is a way to further increase profits. However, the same jobs that are being cut or moved often support entire communities. If, for example, a company closed down an entire manufacturing plant of 5,000 or 10,000 jobs in order to make even greater profits, then a community of the size of a small city would suddenly find itself out of job. The initial consequences would be mass unemployment and a sudden death for the entire local economy, and before long related social problems will surface, e.g. crime, homelessness, domestic violence, and drug abuse. These are all indirect yet devastating consequences of the business aim to increase profits. The owners and managers of the company have an ethical obligation not to ignore the consequences of their actions and should not try to maximize profits at all costs.
58. 商业是否可以为谋利益不择手段？
每桩生意的终极目的都是盈利。不能盈利的生意将使公司难以成功，甚至难以维继。无论如何，作为社会的一员，企业必须遵守法律法规，老板对自己的员工和自己的企业所在的社区负有责任。
虽然激烈的竞争往往让企业采取极端的方式以确保获取利润，但是企业一定不能违法。不久前，现代经济中大量金钱的流动导致首席执行官和经理违背贸易规则。例如，公司不仅故意无视政府制定的环保标准，有时公司甚至还试图贿赂政府官员以保证他们不用遵守规则。这样的违法行为是可能发生的，因为有些公司的社会和政治影响力非常大。但是这种行为是不道德的，政府应惩罚违规者。
此外，经理必须意识到员工和他们的家人靠工资获得财政安全感。对很多公司来说，裁员或把工厂设到别的国家是个很好的盈利方法。可是，被裁掉或者转移的工作往往是一个社区赖以生活的支柱。例如，如果一家公司为了赚取更多利润而关闭五千人甚至一万人的工厂，那么这个有着与小城镇一样多人口的社团突然发现自己失业了。最直接的后果就是大面积的失业和当地经济的突然休克，不久，其引起的社会问题，如犯罪、无家可归、打架斗殴、滥用毒品等问题就会显现。这些都是企业想获取更多利润而带来的间接后果，但却是毁灭性的。公司的老板和经理应具有道义上的责任感，不能忽视他们的行为所带来的后果，不能不惜任何代价地寻求利益最大化。
- dissolve ［diˈza:lv］ v. 溶解；解散
- illegal ［iˈli:gəl］ adj. 违法的，不合规定的
- international ［ˌintə:ˈnæʃənəl］ adj. 国际的
- tremendous ［triˈmendəs］adj. 极大的，巨大的
- regulation ［regjəˈleiʃən］ n. 规则，规章
- employee ［imˈplɔii:］ n. 职工，员工
- immoral［i ˈmɔ:rəl］ adj.不道德的，邪恶的
- community［kə ˈmju:niti］n.公社，团体，社团
- punish ［ˈpʌniʃ］ v. 惩罚，处罚
- extreme ［iksˈtri:m］ adj. 极端的
- violator ［ˈvaiəˌleitə］ n. 违反者，亵渎者
- enormous ［iˈnɔ:məs］ adj.巨大的，庞大的
- entire［enˈtaiə］adj. 全部的，完整的，整个的
- contemporary［kənˈtempəˌreri］adj. 当代的
- surface ［ˈsə:fəs］ n. 表面，外表；水面
- deliberately ［diˈlibəritli］ adv. 故意地；有意识地
- domestic ［dəˈmestik］ adj. 家庭的； 国内的
- bribe ［braib］ v. 贿赂，向…行贿
- abuse ［əˈbju:z］ n. 滥用，虐待，辱骂
- official ［əˈfiʃəl］ n. 官员，公务员
- maximize ［ˈmæksəˌmaiz］ v. 最大化；取最大值
- bypass ［ˈbaiˌpæs］ v. 设旁路；迂回