A first-term junior senator has placed a bill before the Senate that promises to correct tax inequities that affect thousands of workers. However, the bill is being held up in committee. The senior senator who serves as Sub-Committee Chairperson is responsible. The senator, however, has learned of a secret scandal in the Chairperson’s personal life. The junior senator visits the Chairperson and tells him that unless the bill is released from committee, he will divulge the scandal to the press. The Chairperson then releases the bill from committee and it is passed—and becomes law.

Identify and tell what ethical philosophy the senior and junior senators are using, if any.

Now, use your ethical philosophy to analyze the situation. Explain how, using your philosophy, you would have solved this situation either the same way as the characters in the situation did, or differently. Why?