Is marketing becoming less and less ethical?

Well, I think it is in fact becoming less ethical. The ethics of society are a reflection of the values that people hold dear and actually use as guiding principles for their life.

But are these values still important?

More and more people treat morality like an inconvenience or obstacle to overcome. The market has been used as a barometer for the ethical values of society and, much to consumers dismay, the marketplace does not always produce goods that are ethical. As individuals we no longer have control over what products get released into the market.

Nowadays corporations have more say than individuals. As a result, people are losing faith in the market and questioning its ability to deliver ethical values. I do not believe that the market is inherently unethical. However, I do believe that many of its current practices are poor reflections of morality. The market is still a reflection of the people who are part of it. The ethics that people hold dear, even if they aren’t actively practicing them, are reflected in the marketplace.

I believe that the market places a significant amount of emphasis on profit. Our society, as well as many societies around the world, have been shaped by this mentality. Therefore it is no wonder why we see so much unethical behavior in the marketplace.

But marketing has always been a somewhat unethical practice. It is now becoming less so because the world as a whole, and especially the United States, are developing in morally positive ways. I see it like this :

• The more a culture becomes globalized, the less it will depend on xenophobic nationalism to function. This is because global citizens naturally desire peace and prosperity for all humans.
• The more a culture becomes connected through the internet, the less it will divide itself into siloed ideological echo chambers. This is because humans naturally desire to see things from many perspectives.
• The more a culture becomes educated, the less it will rely on superstition. This is because educated humans naturally desire sound reasoning.
• The more a culture becomes affluent, the less it will be willing to tolerate extreme poverty and human suffering. This is because affluent humans naturally desire happiness for all.
• And the more a culture embraces science and reason, the less it will be influenced by manipulative politicians. This is because educated humans naturally desire truth over bullshit.

There are clear examples throughout historyfor why Marketing has always been unethical. Marketing has a number of definitions, but can generally be considered the activity of promoting a product or service using techniques to influence its perception in order to achieve a desired outcome. As a result, marketing is almost by definition exploitative. Consider the following:

• Marketing is based on the notion of making money, and will attempt to influence people in any way necessary in order to achieve this goal.
• Marketing is based on the notion of selling a product to someone, and will attempt to influence people in any way necessary in order to achieve this goal.
• Marketing is based on the notion of creating social change, and will attempt to influence people in any way necessary in order to achieve this goal.

The short answer is that marketing has always been unethical and it wouldn’t exist or evolve otherwise.

So how to make Marketing more ethical?

I think you should start by not deceiving people. This is unethical in my opinion because it denies the participants of a certain experience and if they were to know that what was promised would not be delivered, they might choose something else which would make everyone better off.

Deception is seen as negative in our culture, but it might be a good thing. There are benefits to deception and they are often overlooked due to fear of the unknown. It is often seen as unethical because it prevents the participants from having full information. This allows them to make choices based on incomplete knowledge which may lead to mistakes in decision making.

Is it bad that decision making is based on incomplete knowledge?

I don’t think so. What if the participants were to know everything and had full information? They would be overwhelmed due to having too much information which can lead to inaction or paralysis.

In the words of John Donne, ‘No man is an island’. Humans are social animals and deception can give them a chance to form relationships. In addition, it might be possible that they value things which were not advertised because there is no reason to lie about those.

To end it here, it would be better to not lie or deceive, but it is never going to happen because people will always want more than what they are given.

See you next time !