Can the law promote doing the right thing?

Yesterday, the Swiss federal government published a report addressing the responsibilities of companies. The crux of the report is the question of whether the legislator should declare the non-binding global ethics standards as binding for Swiss companies. Here, opinions differ along the well-known lines: On the one hand the voices of business-critical NGOs, which are using every means to gain attention for what they consider right; on the other hand business-friendly representatives for whom any regulation is one too many. I don’t plan to join in their mantra of voluntariness, business’ ability to restrain itself. However, I ask myself to what extent more regulations actually enhance a sense of responsibility in companies. Can the law promote doing the right thing? The so-called fat-cat-initiative that passed last year and going to be a paragraph in the federal constitution provides illustrative material for this – as far as the consequences can already be estimated.