Markets and Morals

Interview with Tavis Smiley, PBS, on What Money Can’t Buy (24:32)Interview with Tavis Smiley, PBS, on What Money Can’t Buy (24:32)

Called one of the world's most interesting political philosophers, Michael Sandel is a professor of government at Harvard University, where he's taught political philosophy since 1980. His hugely popular undergraduate course, "Justice," has enrolled over 15,000 students and is the first Harvard course to be made freely available online and on public TV. He's also a best-selling author, who, in his latest book, What Money Can’t Buy, explores the moral dilemmas of a capitalistic society and the choices people face daily. A Rhodes Scholar, Sandel received his doctorate from Oxford.

BBC News HARDtalk, Michael Sandel, part 2 (9:44)

Michael Sandel is a philosopher with the global profile of a rock star. His argument that commercial markets are increasingly entering all parts of life, and are becoming more and more destructive, has won him a worldwide following. But are commercial interests and financial incentives really that much more intrusive these days and, if so, how do you draw up the rules for the moral limits of markets?

BBC News HARDtalk, Michael Sandel, part 1 (14:14)

Michael Sandel is a philosopher with the global profile of a rock star. His argument that commercial markets are increasingly entering all parts of life, and are becoming more and more destructive, has won him a worldwide following. But are commercial interests and financial incentives really that much more intrusive these days and, if so, how do you draw up the rules for the moral limits of markets?

The Guardian, “The more things money can buy, the harder it is to be poor” (2:33)

Over the last few decades we've become a market society where almost everything is up for sale – there are cash incentives for doctors who diagnose dementia patients and for teachers whose students get better exam results. The problem, says Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel, is that where money determines access to necessities such as health and education, inequality matters more than it otherwise would.... Read more about The Guardian, “The more things money can buy, the harder it is to be poor” (2:33)

TED Talk: “Why we shouldn’t trust markets with our civic life” (14:37)

In the past three decades, says Michael Sandel, the US has drifted from a market economy to a market society; it's fair to say that an American's experience of shared civic life depends on how much money they have. (Three key examples: access to education, access to justice, political influence.) In a talk and audience discussion, Sandel asks us to think honestly on this question: In our current democracy, is too much for sale?