Computer Ethics Institute, April 27, 1995
George D. Randels , Center for Ethics in Public Policy & the Professionals and the Goizueta Business School, Emory University
George Randels begins this paper with a series of cases involving unethical computer conduct and uses them to explore the conflict between liberalism and communitarianism. “If nothing else, these cases show that cyberspace is rife with ethical problems, some of which can be connected to the most radical individualism. I think that communitarianism can provide a useful way to think about these problems, emphasizing the common good, although it brings difficulties of its own. These difficulties include finding a good balance between the benefits of community and the benefits of liberal individualism, and the applicability of communitarianism to the Net writ large. I will attempt to address these points below.”