Professor of Philosophy David Schwartz's most recent book, Consuming Choices: Ethics in a Global Consumer Age, was released in May 2010.

Being a consumer is now integral to the human experience, something none of us can avoid. At the same time, many of the products that we buy come to us with histories steeped in highly unethical practices, such as worker exploitation, animal suffering, and environmental damage.

Consuming Choices considers the ethical dimensions of consumer life by exploring several basic questions: Exactly what sorts of unethical practices are implicated in today's consumer products? Does moral culpability for these practices fall solely on the companies that perform them, or does it also fall upon consumers who purchase the products made with such practices? And most importantly, do consumers ever have moral obligations to avoid particular products?

Schwartz utilizes historical and fictional examples to illustrate the types of wrongdoing currently implicated by consumer products in this age of globalization, offers a clear description of the relevant moral theories and important ethical concepts, and provides concrete suggestions on how to be a more ethical consumer.

David Schwartz

Schwartz teaches in the Randolph College philosophy department. His interests center on moral values and public policy. In 2000, he authored Art, Education, and the Democratic Commitment: A Defense of State Support for the Arts.

Schwartz is faculty advisor and has a regular on Randolph College Radio WWRM. He is also a local celebrity as the creator and driver of The Ant Car.