Richard Manahl

2/19/16
WRTC 103
Sheila Fielding
Comparative Rhetorical Analysis
The economy is a topic which has become so entwined with todays current day
culture that it is impossible to avoid the issues surrounding money and big business.
Issues people worry about, such as the financial deficit, can be linked back to greed
within business economics. The issue of greed in economics has lead to people
questioning if business ethics is an obsolete concept. This problem of deception and
greed within the business sector is discussed within Joseph Stiglitzs article, Morality
Requires Reform of the Current Economic System, as he argues for morality within
economics and for the financial sector to accept blame for financial problems. Stiglitzs
argument is portrayed within the PSA in the way that they both argue for refined morals
in a business setting through the usage of pathos, logos, and ethos to demonstrate how the
corrupted system is harmful to the economy.
Stiglitzs main claim in the article is that society has let the immoral practices
ensue due to the economic system being extremely materialistic. Reasoning behind these
claims draws from the deceptive practices by banks and real estate which caused a
financial deficit. Stiglitzs writes in a persuasive style in an attempt to convince the
middle and lower classes to realize a cause to the economic problems, as well as to get
the financial sector to accept blame. An issue not mentioned in Stiglitzs article though is
the theories surrounding business ethics. These include maximizing profits, moral
minimum, stakeholder interest, and corporate citizenship. These scale from solely
wanting maximum gain, to actively trying to improve the community through your

business and is part of the reason people question how to go about doing business
ethically.
The concept of corruption is seen throughout the article and Stiglitz uses pathos to
have the audience question the morality behind corrupt business practices. Stiglitzs
method involves him asking the audience questions throughout the article to show the
moral depravity within big business. An example of a question includes Are we sure that
the way that they have been molding us is what we want? (par. 3). In this quote Stiglitz
questions if society should be happy with the market fundamentalist approach to
economics, which grants a laissez-faire or free market practice. Stiglitz continues on this
question by describing the deception and ignorance the financial sector displays towards
business ethics, Their ideal scenario, it seems, is to have the kind of regulation that
doesn't prevent them from doing anything, but allows them to say, in case of any
problems, that they assumed everything was okaybecause it was done within the law
(par. 11). Stiglitz provokes a sense of irritability in the audience by choosing words like
ideal scenario and within the law to show the corrupt business practices. With this
kind of description, Stiglitz gives off the image that business methods involve slipping
around loopholes, rather than facing the issue to correct it.
Stiglitz continues to show the corruption within business ethics through logos,
specifically his use of examples. A prime example of corruption is seen when Stiglitz
discusses the pay differences within a company, Within corporations, the pay of the
leader might be 10 or 20 times that of the average worker (par. 5). Stiglitz then shows
how CEOs have been continuously increasing moral depravity after policies put into
place by President Reagan, There ceased to be any sense of fairness; it was simply how

much the executive could appropriate for himself. It became perfectly respectable to call
it incentive pay (par. 5). This is a wonderful example of both logos and pathos as it
shows the audience a moral dilemma within the economic standard regarding income
equality. Stiglitz proves his message that the ethics behind business is obsolete due to the
strong sense of inequality resulting from greed and he does so through the logical
explanations of his examples.
The ethos portion of the article is seen primarily within the beginning as Stiglitz
introduces himself and his argument. The first form of ethos that the audience sees is the
personal credentials of the author, which help to qualify him within his argument.. Stiglitz
states his time being a professor at Columbia University, as well as his credentials from
writing a book about economics titled The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided
Society Endangers Our Future (par. 1). Another form of ethos is seen in the delivery of
author Stiglitz. He displays confidence in the way he begins by asking the audience to
think critically about three specific questions regarding the corruption in the economy. In
addition, he helps display the message he wishes to argue within the article to the readers
by asking them to think critically throughout.

The main claim of the PSA is to show that the way business officials handle their
business involves unethical methods to achieve greedy desires. This shares the argument
within Stiglitzs article in that business ethics is corrupted and needs to be fixed if it is to
stop harming the economy. The dominant parts of the PSA include the picture which
displays actions required for positive business ethics practices, the two paraphrased
quotes from the article, and the quote I thought of in an attempt to use pathos and
peoples emotions to believe the claim. In addition, the use of the colors red and blue help
to display negativity and positivity, respectively, behind certain words in respects to
business ethics. Finally, because the PSA argues the same points as the article, the article
and PSA have a shared audience.

The ethos element of the PSA is likely the weakest and this is due to the lack of
personal credibility behind my PSA. Although, despite that the usage of credible sources
is still apparent and helpful in displaying the message of business ethics being filled with
deception and greed. The PSA takes ideas from Stiglitz and paraphrases them to discuss
the healing required within business ethics that is being ignored due to the deception and
blaming going on between the financial sector and the government. The other claim taken
from the PSA focuses more on a logical appeal because Stiglitz is giving references to
unethical practices. The final portrayal of ethos within the PSA is the logo of
International Business Ethics Institute as a source which can be used to further research
business ethics.
The logos portion of the PSA was meant to focus on the facts that were stated in
the article and display them through statistics Stiglitz gave. The facts chosen focus on the
claim surrounding incentive pay and how CEOs used to make 10 to 20 times the
amount of money as their employees. However, now due to incentive pay, CEOs can give
themselves any amount of pay as they wish. This displays the ideas of how the market
fundamentalist society we live in is corrupt and unfair through a logical claim that relates
back to Stiglitz argument. Another example of logos in the PSA can be seen in the image
used and how it metaphorically describes success. The positive steps listed and gesturing
made by the business workers gives a positive message behind how successful business
practices occur.
The pathos portion of the PSA is the largest and that is due to the large emphasis
on pathos throughout the article. An example of pathos within the PSA is the usage of
strong and persuasive language which can clearly be seen thanks to the color scheme. The

red coloring of words like deception and blaming show the negative aspect that
comes with the unethical business practices, whereas the image positive words like
fairness and honesty are being gestured at by the businessmen and point towards
Success. Another element of pathos is the integration of a personal quote, Moral
values shape the way money travels. The purpose of this quote is to get the audience
thinking more often and critically about business ethics. The quote is an attempt to sound
inspirational, essentially stating that positive morals leads to a positive economy and vice
versa. Finally, the quote attempts to use vivid language through its coloring of words and
half rhyme to gain the support of the audience.
The claims made within the article are stronger than the PSA in that Stiglitz has
more clearly described the reasoning behind business ethics being corrupt. Although, the
PSA does a good job of supporting the claims made within the article. These claims that
business ethics is becoming obsolete due to the deception and immorality are supported
through the usage of pathos, logos, and ethos within both the article and PSA. The
combination of these three tools helps to get the audience to think critically about the
issues surrounding business ethics, as well as leave a lasting impression on their moral
decision making.

Works Cited
Stiglitz, Joseph E. "Morality Requires Reform of the Current Economic
System."Ethics.
Ed. Nol Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven, 2015. Opposing
Viewpoints. Rpt. of "Moral Bankruptcy: Why Are We Letting Wall Street Off So
Easy?"Www.motherjones.com. N.p.: n.p., 2010. N. pag.Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 20 Feb. 2011
"Business Ethics Organizations." International Business Ethics Institute RSS. Web. 20
Feb. 2016.