"Sorry Mr. Jones, we've decided your, ahem alternative lifestyle and beliefs are fundamentally incompatible with the views of our company. Your electrical service will be discontinued in three to five business days."

I may be misunderstanding this. Does this mean "You [a business] shouldn't have to do business with people you don't want to"? If so, why should rights of people extend to businesses? People already have the freedom of association of employment that seems to cover this. ie: if someone doesn't want to associate with someone else as an employee of a business, they can simply not work at that business.

> You [a business]

Businesses aren't people, they're legal fiction. The individuals who make these decisions do and should have the right to do business with whomever they want, based on any criteria they deem appropriate. This constitutes the distinction between the private and public sphere.

>should have the right to do business with whomever they want, based on any criteria they deem appropriate.

There's a subtle distinction where you may have layered your own individual beliefs onto this statement by using the word "should", rather than indicating what is actually the law. While you may feel they "should" have that right based on your own feelings and personal morality, there are specific laws that say they do not. In many jurisdictions within the U.S., for example, businesses generally do not have the right to refuse business to a person based on that person being part of a protected class.

So it’s okay for banks to choose who they’ll let bank with them?

In any case, I disagree. Some things are basic necessities.

Yes. Banks close accounts all the time of clients they no longer want to risk business with.

banks do that all the time. try writing a few checks over your balance and not paying up. they will definitely terminate your account.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/can-my-bank-close...

That said I do wish there was some regulation for accounts for Apple, Microsoft, Google, Steam, etc as closing an account can have huge reprocussions.

Credit unions frequently have exclusive membership, typically a certain geographical area though many started out specifically for members of certain unions.

yes...? if you overdraw your account and/or bounce checks over and over, it's not unreasonable for the bank to close that account eventually.

That’s why selling as a private individual is different to setting up a company, in the first you can choose not to sell to whomever for whatever reason with no legal comeback. Try denying service to someone in a protected class if you’re in the second and you may well end up with real legal problems.

Due process is also important. A balance is needed.