In his book What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, Harvard
Professor Michael J. Sandel invites us to engage in a public debate on
the proper role of markets in society. It is a question, he says, to
which economists do not give enough thought. I agree. I am happy to join
the debate.
First of all, I should make it clear that despite the title, the debate is not about what money can’t
buy. There is little controversy about that. Sandel correctly points
out that money can buy companionship but not friendship; sex but not
love; or a statuette but not the honor associated with selection as the
year’s best actor. The heart of Sandel’s argument is really about what
money should not buy, or more precisely, what we should not
offer for sale or buy if it is offered. The book covers a lot of
ground—far too much to deal with all at once. This post will address the
ethics of queuing, a method of allocating scarce goods that Sandel sees
as morally superior to pricing for many purposes. I hope to take up
other issues he raises in future posts. >>>Read more
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