The Ethics of Taking a Corporate Law Job Defending Fossil Fuel Companies
By
Kwame Anthony Appiah
Summary
A working-class graduate of an elite law school grapples with the ethical dilemma of taking a high-paying corporate law job that may involve defending fossil fuel companies or other "climate villains." The Ethicist columnist weighs the tension between personal financial necessity (including $150,000 in student debt) and moral values, exploring whether such career choices constitute abandoning one's principles or are a pragmatic path to opportunity and social mobility.
Source
bskyThe Ethics of Taking a Corporate Law Job Defending Fossil Fuel Companiesnytimes.comKey quotes
· 2 pulledI come from a working-class family. I have worked very hard in school and graduated college with little debt, so when I was given the opportunity to attend an elite law school, I took it — along with a $150,000 price tag.
Some people may scorn me for such a decision, but this was my dream school, and I saw it as a ticket to an echelon of society and opportunity that was otherwise entirely barred to me.
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