I argue that lying in business negotiations is pro tanto wrong and no less wrong than lying in other contexts. First, I assert that lying in general is pro tanto wrong. Then, I examine and refute five arguments to the effect that lying in a business context is less wrong than lying in other contexts. The common thought behind these arguments—based on consent, self-defence, the “greater good,” fiduciary duty, and practicality—is that the particular circumstances which are characteristic of business negotiations are such that the wrongness of lying is either mitigated or eliminated completely. I argue that all these “special exemption” arguments fail. I conclude that, in the absence of a credible argument to the contrary, the same moral constraints must apply to lying in business negotiations as apply to lying in other contexts. Furthermore, I show that for the negotiator, there are real practical benefits from not lying.

我认为，在商务谈判中撒谎是完全错误的，而且不亚于在其他情况下撒谎。首先，我断言说谎通常是事实错误的。然后，我检查并驳斥了五个论点，即在业务环境中撒谎比在其他环境中撒谎更少错误。这些论点背后的共同思想——基于同意、自卫、“更大的利益”、受托责任和实用性——是商业谈判特有的特定情况，即可以减轻或消除撒谎的错误完全地。我认为所有这些“特殊豁免”的论点都失败了。我的结论是，在没有相反的可信论据的情况下，同样的道德约束必须适用于商业谈判中的撒谎，就像适用于其他情况下的撒谎一样。此外，我向谈判者表明，不说谎有真正的实际好处。