Moral Loopholes in the Global Economic Environment: Why Well-Intentioned Organizations Act in Harmful Ways

Abstract

Thomas Pogge’s notion of moral loopholes serves to provide support for two claims: first,
that the ethical code of the global economic order contains moral loopholes that allow participants in special social arrangements to reduce their obligations to those outside the
social arrangement, which leads to morally objectionable actions for which no party feels
responsible and that are also counterproductive to the overall objective of the economic
system; and, second, that these moral loopholes are more likely to exist as our economic
order becomes more global. Finally, it will be shown that attempts to rectify the situation
with voluntary corporate codes of conduct are inadequate. The argument proceeds through
analysis of one case study, concerning action by the executive of the Cerrejón mining
operation at La Guajira Penisular, Colombia.