Is business immoral?

I, like many, have often found myself scrolling aimlessly through LinkedIn like it’s Instagram. “I am proud to announce that I will be working for McKinsey this summer.” “It is an honor to say that I will be a 2026 Summer Analyst for Deloitte.” “#LockheedMartinSummer.” Now, these internships are extremely impressive; it is no easy feat catching the attention of these multibillion-dollar companies. However, one can’t help but question the less than optimal conduct of many of these corporations.

McKinsey & Company paid over $650 million to settle investigations regarding its involvement in the opioid crisis. Most of the weapons used to actively destroy the Middle East have that recognizable Lockheed Martin blue star printed on their sides. The questionable actions of these companies are not exactly hidden. One Google search will provide you with numerous examples of exploitation, human rights violations and corruption. So, why does working for them feel like a moral victory? More importantly, what does that say about how we value vocation relative to human life?

Grow the Good in Business. That is the tagline of the Mendoza College of Business, which permeates through all aspects of the sought-after business school. I will admit. It is great promotional material. It is almost enough to mask the reality that most business students are not going into business to grow the good within it. They go into business to make money.

McKinsey Summer Business Analysts (or interns) in the US earn a monthly salary of roughly $9,000 to $11,000. For 10 weeks, that adds up to at least $22,000 in compensation for incoming college sophomores. $22,000 made in one summer. Goldman Sachs, famously called the “Vampire Squid” for its emphasis on profits at the expense of its clients and arguably the home of the top summer analyst internship in the world, offers compensation averaging around $40-55+ per hour. Undoubtedly, there is a direct correlation between the demand of these internships and the high salaries that accompany them.

There is an unfathomable amount of concentrated wealth in the sphere of business. Yet, that pursuit of wealth is inherently self-interested and brings to light the inherent careerism present in the study and practice of business.

Careerism refers to the relentless pursuit of professional advancement, power and prestige, often prioritizing personal career gain over work performance, ethical standards or personal life. It manifests itself in the focus on networking, self-promotion and high-status job titles, frequently at the expense of genuine work quality and passion. But above all, its existence hinges on the collapse of one’s integrity — the willingness to forgo personal ethics for external gain.

Careerism is not a new topic, yet these days it seems to be as prevalent as ever. The rules of the game have changed when it comes to what it means to be successful. In business, that means attaining these prestigious internships even when they mean being paid with the “blood money” of the exploited.

But is the fault of careerism solely to be placed on college students looking for jobs? I don’t think so. The average cost of attendance for elite universities creeps closer and closer to $100,000, with many universities such as the University of Southern California and New York University already surpassing that unimaginable figure. With such costs, students and families are rightly concerned about the return on investment (ROI) for a degree. And it is no secret that a finance degree probably has a higher pecuniary ROI than a Program of Liberal Studies degree (apologies in advance to my fellow PLS students. We are in this together.)

Though it is somewhat of a cop-out, it is true that we live in a society. We live in a society where wealth is a prerequisite for comfort. A society where young people are required to relinquish their morality in order to meet the standards of their parents and universities. Business allows for people to live the lives they want to live, physically. But internally it often requires the suppression of virtue and personal fulfillment, even if one doesn’t recognize it.

So, is business immoral? I don’t know. Honestly. But can and should it be criticized? Absolutely. We can’t accept the degradation of human dignity for capital simply because that is the way things have always been. That statement applies to both the victims of corporations and the individuals who participate within those corporations.

We cannot forget our humanity, but what exactly does that mean? Does it mean turning down the McKinsey offer? Does it mean taking the job but donating part of the salary? Does it mean pushing for ethical standards from the inside? That is something we all must figure out.

We all have passions. We have a morality that lives within all of us, and it is imperative that we remember it in all that we do. If not, we risk allowing the corruption of our world to destroy what it means to be a human.