What Money Can't Buy

In 'What Money Can't Buy,' Michael J. Sandel meticulously dissects the moral quandaries arising from the pervasive reach of market values into every sphere of human life. From paying children for grades to auctioning university admissions, Sandel challenges readers to confront the ethical implications of transforming civic duties and human relationships into commodities. He argues that while we once had a market economy, we have insidiously drifted into becoming a market society, where the logic of buying and selling reshapes and often corrupts nonmarket norms. Sandel provocatively asks whether there are certain goods – like friendship, citizenship, or health – that should remain outside the realm of commercial transaction, and what is lost when everything is for sale. The book sparks a vital debate about the proper boundaries of markets in a democratic society, urging us to consider the moral and civic virtues that money cannot, and should not, acquire, ultimately advocating for a re-evaluation of what we truly value and why.