Does the fear of getting caught encourage ethical behavior?
While the fear of getting formally caught by the judicial system of our society is a motive for people to act ethically, so is the fear of getting shamed by your neighbors. For example, right in front of Madison Square Garden, there’s that stairway where people are getting out of a subway stop, exiting Penn Station, or spilling out of a game. There used to be a war for taxis; people would push each other out of the way. A couple of years ago, a yellow line was painted on the street, along with two words: “taxi line.” Now people stand in line-because you gave them a structure that made it possible for everyone to behave equitably and civilly to one another. People still cheat, but most don’t. It’s extraordinarily inspiring. There’s no fear of getting caught by the police. People do the right thing because they want to do the right thing and because they see those around them behaving ethically. Do corporations generally behave ethically? Some companies do things that I regard as grotesq
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