What Money Can't Buy: Examining the Moral Limits of Markets (Paperback)

Lauren: My coworker had this book with her, and I was doing her lunch break And i saw her book on the counter I picked it up and the first few pages defiantly sparked my interests fast! So i purchased mine on here on Amazon on while I was on lunch break that same day lol! Good book for sure

United States on Jan 19, 2024

papa k: M Sandel takes the reader to consider whether a market society has intercepted our conscience and consciousness to a degree that we accept a “market society”, a value-system based on values of exchange, utilitarian efficacy, and individual gratification. In economics the term “effective demand” can often be understood that if I have a thirst, but not the money to buy the bottle of water, the market does not care if I am thirsty. I am only visible if I have a way to pay. Sandel takes a different approach. The visible payers alter important norms, principles, relationships. I can pay and thus my boundless consumption may devalue others, principles, or even the object of exchange. Sandel’s book is a prism that shows the many colors that have become invisible in the light of “how we do business.” It is written with the narrative form that you are immersed in a long conversation at the cafe table, rather than a lecture hall.

United States on Aug 01, 2023

Adilson Rodrigues Pires: Ainda não cheguei à metade do livro, mas estou gostando pelas situações que o autor coloca sobre as várias maneiras de dinheiro atrair dinheiro, com ou sem preocupação com a ética. Nós hoje vivemos no mundo da concorrência e a visão dada no livro é muito boa.

Brazil on Oct 04, 2021

CP: The author, Michael Sandel, has taught and written about values and moral principles throughout his Harvard career. This book covers some subjects (e.g life insurance, health care) where market efficiency may conflict with societal values in some circumstances, which the author explores. One example: The author asks if paying kids for reading books may not induce the wrong attitude towards reading (linking book reading to a market transaction, as opposed to a way to knowledge). The book is more an exploration of various questions involving market mechanisms and societal values, rather than a formal theory of the potential flaws of a market approach.

Canada on Dec 05, 2020

Ajay Sojitra: Must read to understand the existing confilcts betweeen morality and markets. And also how in past the market, in almost all the cases, has been able to modify the morals to its own will.

The Author sites all the possible examples to make home the point that eventhough most economists consider good unaffected by the markets, but in reality the market corrupt the goods and the values to make its way in hetherto unpaved areas.

And a debate is necessary to what extent we are willing to give way to market to modify the morals.

As always Micheal Sandale will not disappoint you. Best book which exploree this conflict.

Just go for it. You will know that Micheal Sandale is famous for all the right reasons.

Truely "A Rockstar" in Western Philosophy.

India on Jul 03, 2020

Simon Rotelli: Lettura davvero molto interessante, che aiuta a non banalizzare la questione dell'opportunità di creare alcuni mercati e ricorda semplicemente quali sono le conseguenze.

In particolare ho apprezzato la leggerezza con la quale Sandel affronta la questione: non fa il filosofo moralizzatore, offre una serie concreta di esempi e ricorda solo di soffermarsi un attimo sulle considerazioni etiche, senza paura di non allinearsi ai 'liberisti a tutti i costi' o ai 'markettari'.

In questi giorni, una delle mie tre splendide figlie, la grande, ha iniziato a studiare economia all'università. Nelle prime due lezioni hanno affrontato il concetto di 'beni' e 'bisogni', concetti che ha trovato abbastanza banali... "sono cose che tanto non chiederenno all'esame".
Le ho comprato questo libro, in edizione cartacea, per farle capire quanto invece serva non banalizzare questi due concetti! Speriamo lo legga!

Italy on Sep 18, 2019

Eduardo: El autor tiene la facilidad de tomar temas profundos y explicarlos de una forma clara y amena. Recomendable para quien le guste el enfoque de profundidad en este tema.

Mexico on May 05, 2017

A. Menon: What Money Can't Buy is an analysis of the embedded moral reasoning in economic thinking and how economic reasoning influences our norms and values. Sandel argues that monetary transactions for goods and services does not necessarily lead to socially optimal outcomes as the framework which legitimizes the use of monetary transactions often degrades our sense of community and norms and values. In a sense, what money cant buy is a sociology view of economics. The book is separated into major chapters, the first tackles queuing systems, the second incentives, third is on markets and morals, fourth life insurance markets and finally naming rights and the takeover of civic life my commercial interests.

For me, the book starts out the strongest with its chapter on queuing systems. The paying of those with idle time to stand in line for congressional hearings by lobbyists and the selling of shakespeare in the park tickets (in manhattan) are used as examples where the norms of first come first serve are overwhelmed by auction systems and how they promote different outcomes.

The author then goes into incentives and how when money is used to change behaviour it can be seen as...

United States on Sep 27, 2012

JTG: Here is nice little book by Michael Sandel, who I first heard about on the Colbert Report. His main question is what he ends the book with, "Do we want a society where everything is up for sale? Or are there certain moral and civic goods that markets do not honor and money cannot buy?" He is speaking about our society and what type of one do we want to live in. It is a book which begs the question of how do markets reflect our morality and in what ways do they shape it. I really enjoyed the way Sandel writes this book with many case studies and arguments on both sides. While you can definitely see they way in which he thinks toward each situation, it seems he presents it more with the notion that these issues are something we need to realize and think critically about before they in turn shape who we become. Mainly using his two fold rubric of fairness and corruption, he assesses different situations to determine their moral judgement and how that relates to a market judgement. I think this raises some great questions to utilitarianism and different ways we make decisions. He is tying morality into everything we do, especially in the free market world, where not even here are you...

United States on May 25, 2012