ABSTRACT
Should laws against discrimination apply to all economic and social relations? Or should there be limits on the application of those laws in respect of private, personal or intimate relations? It is generally accepted today, for instance, that discrimination laws should apply to actions and decisions of the government and of private sector employers, but should discrimination law apply to the decisions of consumers with regard to the shops where they buy their goods, to workers in their choice of employer, or to individuals in the choice of their guests, friends and lovers? If limits are placed on the scope of application of discrimination laws with respect to such examples, what moral or ethical principles should determine the boundary of a private sphere within which actionable claims against discrimination are unavailable?
