Ethical Issues in Business and Society: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

Enron manipulated the energy market in a manner that hurt consumers and did not reflect the state of real economic demand and supply. This was not capitalism, rather it was criminal behavior. It also used underhanded accounting measures that did not reflect its real losses to delude investors, including employees that had sunk their savings into the company.

The capitalist system demands evidence of short-term profitability for a company to survive. There is little respect for a company that grows slowly, particularly in these volatile economic times. Enron's ability to make it seem as if it was wildly profitable on paper was rewarded.

Q3. Socrates would have said that the ultimate goal of life was excellence, and that true Platonic perfection is not realized by the pursuit of sensual, short-term pleasure. The truth, rather than the mirage...
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