"The power of vested interests is vastly exaggerated compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas."I don't think there is such a legal term, but there should be. Or even better, it should be in the DSM-IV.
--John Maynard Keynes
Capitalism's primary tenet is to promote efficiency in the interaction between buyers and sellers in a given market. Nobody really cares who is doing the selling or buying as long as they continue (and never stop) doing it. Its about the product, not the person.
I'm specifically thinking of Britney Spears. Young, talented and pretty, she makes it big on the world scene when she's 17 and now, a failed marriage and two kids later, she's suffering from a major drug problem. And selling. She sings about her problems and sells. She sings about being able to sell even though she has problems...and sells! We don't care about what's going on with her personally, we just love her music. She's enrapturing. She's entrapped.
The right or wrong of it is never clear. You can point to Bill Clinton's infidelity or Robert Downey's Jr.'s addiction or Ken Lay's corruption. But it depends which side you're on, the side that made money or the side that didn't. And money has the tendency to blind people to the hypocrisy in others' actions.
Bottomline is that as mega corporations continue to drive the mom's & pop's out of business, there's a growing disassociation between the seller and the product. To condone the behavior we want, we must ourselves live and breathe it. Eat better and exercise more if you want to curb the obesity epidemic. Become a socially responsible investor to avoid blindly funding oil, cigarettes, and fast food. Take responsibility and make yourself accountable for it, because everyone learns by example!
EDIT: How could I forget Martha Stewart!?