Tricking your competitors into fighting and mistrusting one another? You don't think that's unethical?
I am NOT saying that it was ethical to attempt to trick them into fighting -- that would be a false dichotomy on the part of the reader. To me it IS unethical to attempt to trick people into fighting.
I am saying that even with attempts to trick, the people still had the power to choose to fight or not. The person who "tricked" them is NOT responsible for the other people's choice to fight. He did not take away their power to choose and he cannot take it away. To me, to give that person power over their choices is also morally unacceptable.
I could counterargue that I gave my word not to do any wanton killing and therefore it's prohibited and then I can wedge whatever I want into that system.
Clean it up. Learn some respect.
I'm well aware that I have a looser sense of ethics than average, but ethics is a cultural construct that can be debated on its own merits.
Not abusing trust, not breaking promises and not being violent are the core tenets of my ethical/moral beliefs - the violence one is just not relevant to business discussions. I've often discussed this with people who have stricter codes that are adhered to less stringently.
your comment verges on ad hominem. If somebody wants to twist my words to make their point, yeah they'll get a little sarcasm in return.