zed and codes of ethics are being adopted and revamped around the globe. The author of "Advertising's Overdue Revolution" proposes three clarifications of the industry principles in North America. They are:1. Promote only those goods and services that benefit human development.2. Refrain from promoting reckless, irresponsible, competitive consumption.3. Changes to laws regarding the way we market to children.Let us examine each of these proposals and decide if it is a good idea to implement any those ideas.1. Promote only those goods and services that benefit human development.I do applaud the author for recognizing there is a problem and wanting to do something about. But I see a large problem with his first proposal. With capitalism, free enterprise, and little government control it is impossible to regulate industry and force them to promote only the goods and services that benefit society. Most industry's are profit driven, answering to their shareholders for instants in a large corporation. There are a few exceptions to the rule such as non profit organizations. The proposal sounds like the building blocks and ideology of a communist government. A communist country is where the state controls the industry, economy and owns all property. In that case it is theoretically possible, but even then the government is using their own subjective view of what promotes human development.If we believed in this principle, we would be opposed to the most obvious products that harm human development such as cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and nuclear power. We would also have to be opposed to giving kids candy as it has no nutritional value. Big Macs, Coke, Pepsi, and potato chips would all have to be banned. What benefit do these food products offer us? They have no nutritional value and one could argue that soft drinks are addictive because of their caffeine content. The list doesn't stop at food products, but one can easily see the...
