Who we buy from is important, but who we sell to is equally important. For any transaction to work, both parties must agree. We agree to buy just as much as we agree to sell.
When we buy from a company we don’t find ethical, we support that business. When we work for a company we don’t find ethical, we also support that business. Even if we set a price or salary so absurd to justify our moral ambiguity, if they pay it, it’s worth it. That’s not a good thing. That’s just how much they need our labor.
Whether it’s working at a company with a crypto angle, buying a subscription to an AI service, having a nice salary made possible by exploiting someone else’s labor, or selling your company to a monopoly, we’ve determined our morals have a price tag.
It’s harder every day to be firm about the line we won’t cross. Every company that has money is doing something awful. Choices are limited. We can make money doing unethical work, or we can go broke. It’s a terrible hand we were dealt.
It’s not just that there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism. There’s no ethical work under capitalism.