The problem with this type of thinking is that it often assumes externalized costs, and even at that, what price do you put on “I don’t want to use car of brand X because the car maker is doing sus things and people speaking out about it are dying.” ?
Take for instance the recent train derailments. Are the costs of cleanup n>0 if the company can get their lawyers to successfully argue they don’t need to pay it? For the company it’s n=0 but for society it is n>0.
Doing the maths is simpler when you can disregard many factors and leave only the ones that affect your bottom line.
Take for instance the recent train derailments. Are the costs of cleanup n>0 if the company can get their lawyers to successfully argue they don’t need to pay it? For the company it’s n=0 but for society it is n>0.
Doing the maths is simpler when you can disregard many factors and leave only the ones that affect your bottom line.