University of Oregon

Morality and the free market

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/07/20/Michael_Sandel_on_Markets_and_Morals

Political philosopher Michael Sandel argues that free market economics have affected American perceptions of ethics, morality, and value. By emphasizing the monetary value of human goods, says Sandel, Americans may be moving away from notions of emotional and social worth.

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Harvard Professor Michael Sandel deliveres a speech titled "Markets and Morals" as part of the Chautauqua Institution 2009 Summer Lecture Series. He tackles some of economics' toughest ethical questions, such as the business of commercial surrogacy and the price of citizenship. - Chautauqua Institution

Michael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught political philosophy since 1980.

He is the author of Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (Cambridge University Press, 1982, 2nd edition, 1997; translated into eight foreign languages), Democracy's Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy (Harvard University Press, 1996), Public Philosophy: Essays on Morality in Politics (Harvard University Press, 2005), and The Case against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering (Harvard University Press, 2007).

His writings also appear in general publications such as The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, and The New York Times.