On Scandal, Olivia Pope is the most popular “fixer” in the United States and uses that power to get what she wants. Her crisis management business, Pope and Associates, is constantly testing these waters and risk their reputation as they commit such dangerous acts. As Olivia Pope and her employees try to solve and protect their clients they are constantly using corrupt tactics to serve as rational justification against their opponent.

          The first episode of Season One started with a murder. Sullivan “Sully” St. James, a veteran hero and cherished public speaker marched into the Pope and Associates office in hysterics over the death of his girlfriend. He was at the scene where the murder occurred and left his fingerprints on numerous items in the apartment spreading his DNA everywhere. The team uses blackmail and deceit to stand by Sully even though many of the employees believe he is guilty. Abby blackmails a police officer by threatening to reveal his private love affair with a stripper to explore the crime scene illegally. While Stephen, another Pope employee convinces a former woman he slept with to run the autopsy of the girlfriend’s body to gain information quicker than the lawyers. Pope and her team quickly determine the mystery behind the case and their unethical practices such as manipulation; lying, cheating, and blackmail are all forgotten. Harrison, another Pope employee admits, “ it is not about solving the crime or following the law, it’s about getting rid of the problem.”

          Pope and Associates use manipulation to save the reputation of future Senator Patrick Keeting. Sharon Marquette is a woman of high power that runs an illegal business of prostitution and who comes to Pope to have them sweep all of the evidence before the attorneys can raid her house. Pope’s associates illegally break into the house to steal an detrimental information on other clients that were involved in the prostitution. Pope then uses this as blackmail to other powerful names to elect Keeting as their new Senate.

          Huck, a former CIA agent is a dedicated employee to Olivia and does just about anything to use his unethical knowledge to protect his clients. He is able to scam the government because he knows how to get around the system since he previously worked in the CIA. He specifically uses this power when he creates a new identity to one of the characters Quinn Perkins. Huck was able to provide Quinn with a new identity, basically deleting her life as Lindsey Dwyer. He changed her name, got her a new passport, license, credit and social security card, and any other information that was once linked to her previous identity. Huck did this all in the nature to protect Quinn but his actions were extremely unethical. He misused his power from working in the government to assist someone who was escaping murder charges.

          Since Pope and Associates is a public relations crisis management office, they encounter many decision based on the ethical theories and values when competing for justice. Olivia Pope takes on he practices of justice diplayed in the key principles by John Rawls, an American philosopher who leads work on moral and political philosophy. Pope must always think about how to get the right answer and by following the veil of ignorance, she has to imagine what the outcomes are going to be for each person involved. Pope is constantly battling with the District Attorney and court sysm to justify her claims against her client.

          Rawls offers a model where “ both parties have to mutually accept principles of justice,” (Plaisance, 2014). This is a common occurrence in the office of Pope and Associates; because although the District Attorney is aware that something mysterious is going on behind the closed doors of the office, him and Pope are always battering back and forth to determine the best possible option for their client.

          The first principle of justice is, “Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others,” (Cooper,2014). When Pope’s clients come into her office, they are always give an equal chance for justice and although her team of gladiators may not always se ethical practices they never deny the rights and liberty of other people by helping anyone that comes to her office. The second principle is, “offices and positions must be open to everyone under conditions of fair equality of opportunity,”(Cooper,2014). Although some of the cases are very skeptical, Pope still manages to take on her clients and protect them as much as she can giving everyone an equal chance to explain their innocence.

          Although Pope wants to bring justice to her client she has a moral obligation that goes against Aristotle’s philosophy of virtue ethics. “Decisions should be made by how we can better people physically and intellectually,”(Plaisance,2014). Pope is aware that when she decides to commit unethical behavior by using her conceptualized thoughts, she is not thinking about anyone but her client. She may be able to better the lives of the people who are paying her to commit such crime but not for other people involved in the case. By not thinking about the overall well being of everyone involved she is in clear opposition with Aristotle’s method of virtue ethics.

          Illegal and unethical activity such as manipulation, blackmail, hacking and extorition is a common occurrence in this crisis management office. It is controversial and ironic that the main goal for this company is to protect its’ clients, which Pope and Associates does a great job of doing but can only accomplish that by manipulation and exploitation of others in the process. Pope and Associates’ tactics depict how corrupt the American government systems fail to protect its’ citizens because its too busy trying to protect itself.

 

 

 

 

 

Reference Page

 

Cooper, T. (2008) Between the Summits: What Americans think about media ethics. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 23. 15-27. DOI: 10.1080/0890052070173106

 

Plaisance, P.L. (2014) Media Ethics: Key principles for responsible practice, 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

 

 

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