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70. The speaker asserts that in creating and marketing products, companies act ethically merely by not violating any laws. Although the speakers position is not wholly insupportable, far more compelling arguments can be made for holding businesses to higher ethical standards than those required by the letter of the law. On the one hand, two colorable arguments can be made for holding business only to legal standards of conduct. First, imposing a higher ethical duty can actual harm consumers in the long term. Compliance with high ethical standards can be costly for business, thereby lowering profits and, in turn, impeding a companys ability to create jobs , keep prices low , and so forth. Second, limited accountability is consistent with the buyer beware principle that permeates our laws of contracts and torts, as well as our notion in civil procedure that plaintiffs carry the burden or proving damage. In other words, the onus should be on consumers to protect themselves, not on companies to protect consumers. On the other hand. several convincing arguments can be made for holding business to a higher ethical standard. First, in many cases government regulations that | 
