Final answer:
Both consumers and producers share the responsibility to ensure products are ethically made. Consumers are responsible for making informed decisions and voicing their preferences, while producers must adhere to ethical practices and respond to consumer demands. Laws aid in protecting consumers and guiding producers towards ethical standards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The responsibility to ensure that products are ethically made falls on both consumers and producers. As individuals with economic rights, consumers have the responsibility to use products safely, make informed decisions, and communicate their preferences. Producers, on the other hand, have an obligation to engage in ethical labor practices, respect environmental concerns, and strive for economic equity.
It is essential for consumers to seek information and use it to make informed choices, pushing the market towards more ethical practices. The rise in public demand for ethical products shows that consumers are taking their role seriously and expecting accountability from companies. Producers, understanding these consumer preferences and the moral implications, must respond by adopting and maintaining ethical production methods.
Laws also play a crucial role in protecting consumers and ensuring producers uphold ethical standards. However, personal responsibility and the choices we make as consumers and the policies producers implement have a significant impact on steering the economy towards a more ethically conscious direction. Answering the 'for whom' question in economics entails considering the equity of resource distribution and the treatment of workers, thus integrating ethical considerations into the fundamental economic decisions.