•

18 October 31, 1975

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Dr. Goldman Cites Jewish Ethics in the Business World

Editor's Note: The late
Dr. Solomon Goldman,
who was one of the most
distinguished leaders in
Conservative Judaism,
was the author of notable
interpretive commentaries
on the Bible and Jewish
ethical teachings. This es-

*

say was one of his impor-
tant contributions to Jew-
ish ethical lore.

By SOLOMON GOLDMAN

There is a very considera-
ble body of Jewish ethical
teaching governing the eco-
nomic relations of individu-
als and bodies in society.
The golden rule, espe-
cially in Hillel's formula-
tion, is in itself enough to
ensure the highest ethical
conduct in business affairs.
But more particularly there
are the rules forbidding has-
agat gevul (encroachment),
lifne fvver (taking advantage
of another's misfortune,
weakness or inexperience)
and genevut daat (decep-
tion.).
There is the principle of
mi shepara, which makes

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agreements which cannot be
legally enforced morally
binding. And there is that
large body of Torah and rab-
binic legislation in economic
matters of which the guid-
ing principles were the over-
all well-being of society, the
protection of the commu-
nity against exploitation
and the protection of the
dispossessed, the underpri-
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Taken together, these
principles are such that
anyone wholly faithful to
them will do his utmost to
avoid inflicting the slight-
est wrong or injury on his
fellow man. The big ques-
tion is: how long, in the ec-
onomic society in which
we live, will he remain in
business?

In a small business, deal-
ing with proprietary articles
at standard prices, there is
no difficulty at all in apply-
ing Jewish ethical princi-
ples.
It is in larger concerns
that the problems arise,
businesses where disputes
arise between management
and labor, and where are
found such practices as ex-
pense accounts, buying up
concerns losing money in or-
der to offset losses against
profits for taxation pur-
poses, the writing-down or
writing-up of assets, at-
tracting key personnel from
other firms, copying ideas,
cancelling orders on the
flimsiest pretexts, pressing
suppliers who are depend-
ent on you for their liveli-
hood, the secret buying up
of shares, and so forth.
Which difficulties today
will face anyone trying to
order his business life
wholly in accord with Jew-
ish ethical teachings? I am
not, thinking of the common
argument that the Torah
and the rabbis legislated for
an economic order wholly

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DR. GOLDMAN

different from that which
prevails in our time; the
principles of that legislation
can be, and, we believe, are
still valid even if the order to
which they were first ap-
plied no longer exists.

The difficulties that I
have in mind are, first, the
problems which face any-
one when he wishes to ap-
pry a general principle to a
concrete, particular situa-
tion; and secondly, and
more fundamentally, the
problem of applying ethi-
cal principles to a field of
activity which, as at pre-
sent constituted, is non-
ethical in character.

In commerce and indus-
try the first of these diffi-
culties is accentuated by the
complexity of the issues and
the widespread repercus-
sions of economic policies
and decisions.
Ideally, all interests in
society should work for the
common good; but there are
conflicts of interests. Whose
interests should the busi-
nessman place first, if they
cannot all be satisfied-si-
multaneously -- his fami-
ly's, his shareholders', his
employes', his trade associa-
tion's or society's? To whom
does the worker owe his
first loyalty, to his em-
ployer or to his union? How
far is a businessman guilty
of "encroachment" if by pro-
ducing a better or cheaper
article he invades his com-
petitor's market?
In most advertising today
there is more than a small
element of "deception."
Should one follow the ac-
cepted standards of adver-
tising or, by refraining from
making exaggerated claims
for one's products, risk los-
ing the market to competi-
tors?

To turn to the second
problem. The economist
will tell you that ethics
have no place in economic
science. Economics is con-
cerned with exchange
value, not with moral or
aesthetic values; it is con-
cerned to explain things as
they are, not as they ought
to be; it defines the princi-
ples on which wealth is
produced and distributed,
but it is not concerned
with the most moral or
socially advantageous
production or distribution
of wealth. AmY question of
what ought to be the econ-
omist will leave to the
moral and social philoso-
pher.

So the businessman will
frankly tell you that Jewish
ethical standards in the full-
ness of their demands are a

luxury which he cannot af-
ford. True, there are busi-
ness ethics, but these are
the "rules of the game."
They are not ethics as reli-
gion understands them —
as brotherly love, as rah-
manut, as scrupulous care
not to take advantage of
another's ignorance or sim-
plicity or difficulties.
The average business-
man's primary concern is to
make a profit or to cut his
losses; and if a situation ar-
ises in which economic con-
siderations conflict with
human interests, he will
claim that economic consid-
erations must come first.
There is an even more
fundamental difficulty, and
that is the moral dubiety
and inherent contradictions
of the economic system un-
der which we live.

I do not want to enter
into the old question as to
whether the Bible would
support socialism or capi-
talism. But nobody can
defend as morally good an
economic system which
creates such wide diver-
gencies in standards of liv-
ing as we see between dif-
ferent members of one
society, or, even more, be-
tween one society and an-
other.

socialism
a capitalist so-
ciety. He finds himself in an
alien world, trying, as it
were, to impose a new
grammar on an old lan-
guage.
And it may be that, be-
fore commercial life can
become a fertile field for
ethical endeavor, the ,whole
character of commerce and
the fundamental structure
of our economy will have to
be changed.

Yet the fact remains
that some men strive har-
der than others to apply
Jewish morality to their
business dealings, that
many make only half-
hearted efforts, while oth-
ers deliberately sail as
close to the wind as possi-
ble, keeping barely within
the law and treating their
more scrupulous or gulli-
ble fellow men as fair
game.

They know that in the
long run a reputation for
fair-dealing, business mor-
ality and good service will
bring its rewards; but they
scheme to reap the benefits
of the short run and to think
of their reputations only
after they have made their
fortunes. Their motto is,
"Get on, get honor, get hon-
est."
It is by the sincerity and
wholeheartedness with
which he strives to approxi-
mate to the ideals of Jewish
• ethics that a man is to be
judged. And this is the sum
of the matter: that Judaism
expects a man to ask of any
action he is about to take,
not only whether it is advan-

Its only justification is
that, in the present stage of
human progress, any alter-
native economy would seem
to demand a suppressiOn of
human liberty which would
be a greater evil than the in-
justices of our economy.
Like so much in the world in
which we live, it is the lesser
of two evils.
(Continued on Page 20)
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