Utilitarianism, Human Rights, and Corruption

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Economics and Ethics
In economics, some issues significantly hamper the realization of the desired goals, such as profitability and efficiency. There happen to be concepts that can either give agency to these issues or help to curtail their spread, and two of those concepts are utilitarianism and human rights. Utilitarianism, an approach to normative ethics, suggests that an action is morally right if it maximizes the overall good. The concept promotes impartiality and agent neutrality though it does not provide the means to achieve such. Since the theory holds that the consequences of an act are the only standards to determine whether it is good or bad, many theorists have found solid reasons to fault it. John Rawls and other philosophers described it as defective by pointing out that it strives to maximize welfare without regard for its distribution (Sandel 123). On the flip side, human rights refer to the basic rights and freedoms that individuals are entitled to for the simple reason that they are human beings. They are standards that appreciate and safeguard the dignity of individuals and guide entities such as governments on what they should do or avoid. Concisely, those standards dictate that no group or individual has the right to violate the rights of others. These two approaches view economic issues from distinct perspectives and offer contrasting solutions. However, human rights provide better solutions as far as economic ethical standards are concerned.
Corruption as an Economic issue
There are issues in economics that hinder the smooth running of affairs, which could block the realization of desired outcomes. One such issue is corruption, which can be termed as the abuse of entrusted power to further selfish interests. Corruption is an unpleasant element in economic spheres since it, among other things, erodes trust and jeopardizes economic development. If left unchecked, the vice can bring business entities and governments to disrepute in record time. This makes it necessary for stakeholders to initiate appropriate mechanisms to curb its spread or eliminate it altogether. However, the efforts to combat corruption can only have a tangible effect only if people understand how it works and the systems that facilitate its survival. Admittedly, this is no mean task because many corrupt practices happen clandestinely, which makes it almost impossible to understand or measure corruption (Mauro 1). However, identifying the causes of corruption could significantly help in combating it.
The world over, there are common factors that contribute significantly to the acceleration of corruption, either in public or private entities. It would be plausible to confine this discourse to public corruption, given its tremendous impact on the lives of the common populace. One fundamental factor that reinforces corruption is trade restrictions. If, for instance, a government imposes strict regulations concerning the importation of particular commodities, the necessary import licenses inevitably become considerably valuable (Mauro 1). This could induce importers to bribe government officials in charge of licensing to receive favorable consideration. Therefore, this create...