Trapped: When Acting Ethically is Against the Law [Paperback]

John Hasnas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2006

Since Enron's collapse in 2002, the federal government has stepped up its campaign against white-collar crime. In this timely book, John Hasnas reveals how the government's effort to enforce legal rules has created a Catch-22 legal environment in which businesspeople must either act unethically or illegally.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Deftly exploring the impracticalities and seemingly inane concepts which restrict our citizens and fill our penitentiaries, Trapped is very strongly recommended reading for anyone with an interest in business ethics, white collar crime, and their impact in a highly competitive marketplace."

--Midwest Book Review

"Did you know that in many ways the terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay have more rights than corporate CEOs and their employees? If you want to know more, get John Hasnas's book!"

--Mark Levin, author, Men in Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America

"Ethical behavior is critical in business. John Hasnas shows that new laws and regulations too often force CEOs to choose between acting legally and acting ethically. This is a book for business people, policymakers, and everyone who has a stake in successful and ethical business enterprises."

--John Mackey, Co-founder and CEO, Whole Foods Market

"Most Americans think that they receive ample protections against unwise or excessive criminal prosecution. But they had better think again. John Hasnas's quiet dissection of the manifold laws dealing with such arcane subjects as money laundering, mail fraud, racketeering, and obstruction of justice shows how people who are innocent of any primary offense are all too often caught in a complex web of federal law dealing with white-collar crime as they go about their ordinary business. Granted, argues Hasnas, white-collar crime is harder to prosecute than street crime. But he convincingly shows that an aggressive Congress and compliant courts have tilted the balance too much in favor of criminal prosecution. We should all be troubled by the prosecutorial histories of Arthur Andersen and Martha Stewart, among others."

--Richard A. Epstein, James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago

"Mr. Hasnas does a good job of explaining the current state of criminal law for corporations, which have no Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, as well as Justice Department policies that offer leniency only to companies that cooperate by turning in employees."

--Floyd Norris, the New York Times

"Hasnas demonstrates very effectively that lawmakers and judges have placed corporate executives in an untenable position. Trampling on the traditional elements of criminal law may make it easier to prosecute alleged deceptive corporate behavior, but it also makes business an endeavor that may result in personal financial loss and imprisonment, despite one’s best efforts at compliance with the law.

Trapped makes a persuasive case for the need to return to our former, more traditional principles of criminal law. On the present course, we face the prospect that only the foolhardy and unethical will be willing to enter the world of business, while competent and qualified individuals will justifiably steer clear."

--Erica Little, Townhall.com

About the Author

John Hasnas is an associate professor of business at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Cato Institute (February 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930865880
• ISBN-13: 978-1930865884
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #771,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative... no fluff, January 2, 2010

By 

A. Ricalde (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trapped: When Acting Ethically is Against the Law (Paperback)

This book will deliver real examples of ethical challenges that face business and it may just change how you feel about them. It demonstrates why making the best corporate decisions are not always the best ethical ones. By clearly weighing the advantages and disadvantages of several approaches within four familiar scenarios, it establishes real challenges to think about from beginning to end. I'm ready to read it again!

5.0 out of 5 stars Confused about the law and ethics?, January 19, 2007

By 

Michelle Dunn "Award winning author, columnist" (The White Mountains of NH) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trapped: When Acting Ethically is Against the Law (Paperback)

John Hasnas gives us examples and scenarios that can help us to see his point on acting ethically when it is against the law. What can a business owner do? If you are in business, you will find this book extremely interesting. Being in the debt collection business this book is a great read, bill collectors are supposed to follow the law, act ethically all while being dubbed as the "bottom feeders" of society. Very interesting book and ideas.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hasnas and the Straw Man, May 21, 2010

By 

J.P.P. "prfesser" (St. Louis, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Trapped: When Acting Ethically is Against the Law (Paperback)

Mr. Hasnas has written two very interesting books in one narrative. One is the discussion of the evolution of federal business regulations, the principles behind them, and the potential they have for conflicting with our common-sense ethical judgments. I've taught Business Ethics, and find Hasnas' discussion accessible, interesting, and very informative.

The other book Hasnas has written here is a poorly designed, poorly executed argument against banking laws and regulations. From the outset, Hasnas gives the feeling that he has an agenda, and it is summed up by himself in the last pages of the book: there ought to be no laws governing business; we should let business people make their ethical decisions unhindered by federal intervention.

Hasnas is either pitifully naive or a mediocre spokesperson for the criminal element that has brought about our current catastrophes in the marketplace. He carefully focuses on a few cases where, in principle, people of solid ethical character could do better without Federal interference; but he neglects the plethora of cases where unsuspecting investors, savers, consumers, et al, have fallen victim precisely to people/corporations which, when given the opportunity, showed themselves to be devoid of any moral decency, and to be all too willing to let personal greed overshadow public good.

We need only think of Enron, Goldman-Sachs, Lehman, and (the poster-boy for contemporary business) Bernie Madoff to see how completely misguided Hasnas is. His book is little more than a pretty straw man argument to let business continue its shady dealings.