商业竞争与适者生存--大卫·马梅特《拜金一族》的伦理批评

Commercial Competition and Survival of the Fittest: An Ethical Interpretation of David Mamet's Play Glengarry Glen Ross

大卫·马梅特的戏剧《拜金一族》体现了作者对竞争日趋激烈的商界中伦理缺失的焦虑。剧中的推销员在利益驱使下为赢得竞争不择手段,这种做法表面上看是个体伦理的缺失,实质上却揭示了资本主义商业运作过程中权力的滥用与动物界"适者生存"法则在社会中的体现。本文从伦理批评视角出发,通过对剧中人物的分析,旨在揭示:协作是人类社会发展的基石,人类既要适度竞争又要彼此肩负责任,同时要遵循人类社会赖以生存的公平原则。

David Mamet＇s play Glengarry Glen Ross embodies the playwright＇s anxiety over the absence of ethical norms and moral scruples in the American business arena, where competition intensifies with each passing day. Lured by profit and driven by desire, the real-estate salesmen in the play try every means to sell useless land to their clients, their individual moral corruption epitomizing the popular belief in ＂the survival of the fittest＂ in a capitalist economy. Analyzing these characters from the perspective of ethical criticism, this paper argues that social development requires cooperation and that human agents should shoulder responsibility and promote fair play in a healthy competition.