With globalization, environmental problems and significant failures in corporate governance, business ethics is perceived to be of increasing importance. This is particularly so for IS because of the huge social effects of new technologies. Yet there has been relatively little discussion of ethics in the IS literature and no clear consensus has emerged. This paper argues that Habermas's discourse ethics can make a major, and practical, contribution. After outlining some major ethical theories

more »

... d how they have been interpreted in business ethics and IS, the paper details the development of discourse ethics. Discourse ethics is different from other approaches to ethics as it is grounded in actual debates between those affected by decisions and proposals. Recognizing that the theory is rather abstract, the final section discusses how it can be pragmatized, with the help of existing soft and critical methodologies, to become a basis for business and IS ethics. Some brief linkage is made with specific IS topics including Web 2.0, open source software, the digital divide and the UK identity card. Résumé Dans cette communication nous soutenons que l'éthique de la discussion développée par Habermas peut apporter une contribution importante et pratique à l'éthique des systèmes d'information. L'éthique de la discussion diffère d'autres approches de l'éthique, car elle est fondée sur des débats réels entre ceux qui sont touchés par ses décisions et ses propositions. Dans notre conclusion, nous essayons de rendre pratique cette théorie plutôt abstraite, en faisant appel au web 2.0, aux logiciels libres et à la fracture numérique. Ethics, Design and Consequences of IT