The Most Appropriate Ethical Principle In The Twenty-First Century

Ethics
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In the 21st century, society is constantly changing, meaning ethics have ceased being a luxury for organizations. Society is increasingly being divided, and with it comes a growing impatience in an individual's decision making. Also, there has been a rise in selfish and irresponsible behavior. This is due to the evidence that craftiness is enriching while being honorable is a road to being impoverished and trumped upon. Most individuals have opted for the former as a way of life, meaning leadership is needed to supervise ethics basics. This essay analyzes a hypothetical ethical dilemma to try and understand which ethical principles, virtue, duty, and utility are more effective for the 21st century.
For such an ethical dilemma, utilitarianism is the best principle to utilize. John Stuart Mill focused on this approach, which involves considering immediate and less immediate consequences of an action CITATION Joh20 \l 1033 (Mill, 2020). The principle is effective for situations where an individual is caught between a rock and a hard place. It provides a chance to ease one's pressure in the decision-making moment just enough to think the decision through. Therefore, an individual can look at the bigger picture assessing the possibility of harm the decision cause the stakeholders. This approach is useful for such situations because it prevents reactionary decision-making, which can do more harm than good to the stakeholders involved.
In this particular case, I am to assume that I am an employed reporter for a local newspaper in town. Ron Smith is an individual on the verge of running for county sheriff; however, he is accused of sexual assault. Up to this point, there is no ethical dilemma because our roles are not conflicting. However, this stance changes when the victim approaches me for help. Another moving force is my boss, who instructs me to hold off publication of the story until the elections are tallied and done. At this moment, some factors are in direct conflict with each other, meaning there is no place to hide, and I must make a decision.
Identifying the dilemma is the first step to make a good ethical decision, which I did. Utilitarianism comes in place in the next step, where I analyze the situation and look at the possible consequences of my decision. If I defy my boss on such a big decision, the consequence is losing my job. If I obey my boss, the victim will be disappointed, and I will have to live with the guilt of not helping a person in need. Using the utilitarian principle, I can see that I am better off obeying my boss and not running the story. Furthermore, after the results are tallied, my boss will allow me to run the story, consequently helping the victim.
The purpose of choosing the utilitarianism principle, in this case, is that it is the most appropriate. Virtue ethics and duty are a consideration but using them would have burnt bridges. For starters, virtue is a philosophy developed by Aristotle and is a shared theme among Greek philosophers. They take on the path of trying to understand human behavior and how it correlates with moral character. It is a character-based approach where Aristotle and his peers believe that virtue is acquired...