A colleague of yours frequently takes for his own personal use small amounts of office supplies, noting that the loss to the company is minimal. You counter that if everyone were to take the office supplies, the loss would no longer be minimal. Your rationale expresses which historical ethical principle

Kant’s Categorical Imperative

Explanation:

Kant's categorical imperative expresses that there is an inner force within the human being that is capable of governing his behaviors, that is, that the person can decide which behaviors are moral and which are not. This concept was the basis for the creation of various theories about morality. This concept of Kant falls within the framework of a global law since it understands that regardless of history, morality must be present.

As for the taking of small amounts of office supply, even these not representing a loss for the company are not correct to take them. If these were not given by the company itself, the person should not take them as doing so could be labeled as stealing. Stealing is taking the belongings of a person without their consent and even the object has taken does not represent any importance for a person, it should not be taken without their authorization.

do you have options to your question?

answer; people have no objective standard by which to judge themselves;