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The ethics of buying VW

Brian Leiter

Psychologist Mark Seidenberg (Wisconsin) writes:

Is there anything of ethical (or legal) interest in the VW scandal, from the perspective of a potential consumer? 

I was ready to buy one of their cars (not diesel).  My initial reaction to the revelations was that I would never buy a product from them again. Is there a principled ethical basis for this? The deception has been revealed and the company will pay billions in penalties, though that will not undue the damage that has been done to health and environment. Would giving them my money be a principled but meaningless token gesture? Would it be foolish because so many large corporations engage in deeply harmful practices? If people keep buying VW products would that be negative because it would mitigate the seriousness of their offense? Or would it be positive because, say,  factory workers who were not complicit in the scheme might be less likely to be affected?

VW was founded by the Nazis and many Jews of my parents generation would not buy German products for many years.   Boycotting them now seems almost petty in comparison.

I do not have to buy a car from VW  but want to make a principled decision in any case.  I would have no car if that were an option but it’s not.

Now, maybe there is some obvious principle involved that I don’t know, but others of your less-sophisticated readers might not either.

Any thoughts from readers on this?

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8 responses to “The ethics of buying VW”

  1. Aaron

    They lied about how polluting their cars are. You should punish them and reward the car makers that really do have market leading fuel efficiency and low emissions even if their cars are gutless and boring to drive compared to the German fakers.

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  2. Lisa

    I write this as an owner of a VW TDI Diesel that is impacted by the recent disclosure. While I feel angry and betrayed by the company's marketing and apparent efforts to deceive regulators, I will note two things: the harms of the defect are realized over the long term by the sheer numbers of vehicles being driven, and the car itself does not pose an immediate safety risk to drivers or others on the road; and at least VW is not denying the issue but taking responsibility. If one is going to choose a vehicle based on a track history of honesty of the manufacturer, you are going to find yourself in some serious trouble. In 2009, Toyota allowed a defect that made cars spontaneously accelerate, and then blamed the drivers rather than their internal process. Ford vehicles made between 1999-2004 had a cruise control switch that shorted out and ignited the car. In 2013, the Ford Escape had fuel line defects that caused fuel to leak onto the engine… And then there is GM: In 2014 GM had huge problems with its ignition systems — the key could be removed while the car was running, thereby disabling power steering and power brakes…a bit of a safety issue. The cars affected with that one number in the millions.

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  3. V.L.

    I second Lisa's skepticism about the existence of a wholly ethical corporation (or being able to even find out about their ethical lapses).

    But I also think it's important to keep sight of the larger issue: presumably we're upset by VW's actions because we care about pollution and the environment. It follows, then, that the best way to choose a car is to buy the most environmentally sound vehicle one can, preferably hybrid or electric (and used vehicles are an excellent option). If VW came out with a car that genuinely achieves that goal, say, leading the pack in electric cars, then they should sell it and we should buy it.

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  4. Abe

    My father fought against the Nazis as an American GI, so my parents would never have bought a German automobile (nor a Japanese one, FWIW). Even if there were no current ethical problem, I could never bring myself to own a car made by a company founded by the Nazis if only because that association would ruin any enjoyment I'd get from owning it. That said (and perhaps that is partly an aesthetic issue), I don't see why there needs to be a difficult ethical problem here. No one is compelled to make a VW purchase and it is very easy to choose a different car, so why even contribute minimally to making a company's bad behavior free of consequences? You could, of course, do some research and find out which auto companies best reflect your values. You may not be able to know all the facts about a company's practices, but once it is totally obvious that a company hasn't operated ethically, you can't say you didn't know. This is surely an easier case than the much-discussed issue of social sanctions against allegedly badly behaving philosophers!

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  5. JCM

    In most areas, to my knowledge, every company is as bad as every other company unless they explicitly go for the 'ethical' niche. Lisa@2 is quite right: if you're going to buy a car, then you can only boycott VW in favour of some other company; but unless you can buy an 'Ethical Car,' it'll be meaningless. (Unless you think that the recency is itself a reason to boycott them, an argument along the lines of, 'if you mess up I'll boycott you for x years'). But by virtue of living in the deeply immoral late-capitalist society in which we do live, we're inevitably implicated in massive daily wrongdoing. So to some extent one just has to hold one's nose and pray for forgiveness.

    That said, 'The Good Shopping Guide' has a page about cars here, though the focus is exclusively on environmental issues: http://www.thegoodshoppingguide.com/ethical-cars/, and links to some other sites that might be helpful.

    More abstractly, if you're looking for philosophical issues surrounding boycotts, you might find work on collective action interesting. There's a rich literature there, but I wouldn't even know where to start you off. (Doubtless others here do.)

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  6. G Dog

    I think a strong reaction from the customers, i.e. a noticeable cut in sales for VW, might make other companies think twice before they try something similar. You don't have to be a utilitarian to welcome such a consequence.

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  7. Russ Payne

    The reason its going to be hard to find principled positions on this issue is that whether to do business with VW or some other auto manufacturer only arises in the context of a practice that is morally bankrupt to begin with. If you must drive, rehabilitating a 20 year old Honda Civic would be one of the less destructive ways to go about it. Otherwise, buy a Rivendell.

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  8. Nick Mann

    Boycotting a corporation (or a regime) is a vote in favor of its being put to death or else radically reformed, and also contains the implication that without a boycott nothing would change. If VW isn't radically reformed it should indeed die or at least be dismembered with only any ethical elements permitted to continue in business.

    So it's a factual issue. Is radical reform in train? The BDR government hasn't been speaking to the issue much if at all, so far as I can tell. One doesn't sense much moral concern or even embarrassment. I say it's entirely appropriate to assume the worst and boycott. Moreover it isn't obvious that similar or comparable crap hasn't been going on inside VW beyond the diesel division. Why trust any VW product at this point?

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