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Moral Psychology and the Intuition that Pharmaceutical Companies Have a ‘Special’ Obligation to Society

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  • James Huebner

Abstract

Many people believe that the research-based pharmaceutical industry has a ‘special’ moral obligation to provide lifesaving medications to the needy, either free-of-charge or at a reduced rate relative to the cost of manufacture. In this essay, I argue that we can explain the ubiquitous notion of a special moral obligation as an expression of emotionally charged intuitions involving sacred or protected values and an aversive response to betrayal in an asymmetric trust relationship. I then review the most common arguments used to justify the claim that the pharmaceutical industry has a special moral obligation and show why these justifications fail. Taken together, these conclusions call into question the conventional ideologies that have traditionally animated the debate on whether the pharmaceutical industry has special duties of beneficence and distributive justice with respect to the impoverished in dire need of their products. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • James Huebner, 2014. "Moral Psychology and the Intuition that Pharmaceutical Companies Have a ‘Special’ Obligation to Society," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 501-510, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:122:y:2014:i:3:p:501-510
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1773-4
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    1. Koehler, Jonathan J. & Gershoff, Andrew D., 2003. "Betrayal aversion: When agents of protection become agents of harm," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 244-261, March.
    2. Leisinger, Klaus M., 2005. "The Corporate Social Responsibility of the Pharmaceutical Industry: Idealism without Illusion and Realism without Resignation," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 577-594, October.
    3. Bale, Harvey, Jr, 1998. "The Conflicts between Parallel Trade and Product Access and Innovation: The Case of Pharmaceuticals," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(4), pages 637-653, December.
    4. Maitland, Ian, 2002. "Priceless Goods: How Should Life-Saving Drugs be Priced?," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(4), pages 451-480, October.
    5. De George, Richard T., 2005. "Intellectual Property and Pharmaceutical Drugs: An Ethical Analysis," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 549-575, October.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bénédicte Bourcier-Béquaert & Loréa Baïada-Hirèche & Anne Sachet-Milliat, 2022. "Cure or Sell: How Do Pharmaceutical Industry Marketers Combine Their Dual Mission? An Approach Using Moral Dissonance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(3), pages 555-581, January.
    3. Helen LaVan & Lori S. Cook & Ivana Zilic, 2021. "An analysis of the ethical frameworks and financial outcomes of corporate social responsibility and business press reporting of US pharmaceutical companies," International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 15(3), pages 326-355.

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