July 04 2023 at 02:00PM
The review: What money can’t buy
By Alejandro Fernández (Linkedin)
WHAT MONEY CAN’T BUY
The moral limits of the market
Michael J. Sandel
Is it correct to skip a queue if you can afford to pay for the fast track? If people would freely sell their own organs, would it be ethical to trade them? Is it correct that countries can buy the right to increase their CO2 emissions? Should companies receive fines for polluting or incentives to produce more sustainably? … such questions and some other dilemmas are the discussion topics raised in this month's book.
Starting in the 80s of the S. XX until 2008, liberal ideas got more and more relevant in the economic sphere in Western countries. The intervention of the governments in the economy was progressively reduced under the assumption that the market is a self-regulating system. According to the liberals, the authorities' role should be limited to ensure that the agreements between buyer and seller are fulfilled.
Nowadays, these rules that regulate the free market have gone beyond the economic environment, and they become the moral justification for several aspects of life which have nothing to do with the economy, for example, the renting of wombs or the CO2 market.
The book poses the central question: isn’t there something wrong in a world where everything can be traded?
Michael Sandel describes many situations where market values are accepted outside the economy and confronts these values with the ethical rules derived from Western philosophy, making the reader think about what is correct in each situation.
The book is written with accessible language, and Sandel uses actual situations to approach complex dilemmas with the clarity of those who master the topic. This lecture will make you think about the moral foundation of politics and the many rules we have accepted because we assumed them as normal.
Dutch edition is available under the title “Niet alles is te koop” for those who prefer to read in their mother tongue.
Please enjoy it
WHAT MONEY CAN’T BUY ISBN-13 978-0374533656 256 pgs
NIET ALLES IS TE KOOP ISBN-13 978-9025904326 288 pgs
Michael J. Sandel teaches political philosophy at Harvard University and has been visiting professor at the Sorbonne in Paris. He has written several books on ethics, and his course "Justice" was the first Harvard course made freely available online. The course was followed by 10 million people and translated into 27 languages.
