Read Introuduction and Chapter 1. And answer Following questions.
For Introuction:
Michael Sandel’s book will argue, amongst other claims, that market values have infiltrated our lives to the point that we wonder whether there is anything that (1) cannot have a price and/or (2) does have a price, but should not. The introduction tries to provide some brief historical context for the book, which only came out in 2012.
Can you clarify features of this historical context from roughly the early 1980′s to the present? Consider bringing in as many ideas from outside the book, including personal experiences, news stories, or other evidence, that bears upon our discussion.
Likewise, in the introduction, it’s key to understand Sandel’s claim about a transition from a market economy to a market society, as well as reinvigorating a hollow public discourse, so feel free to help explain these.
For Chapter 1
Let’s start here. Sandel pits two norms against each other in chapter 1, the norm for queuing or lining up to get certain goods versus the market norm for paying for a good ahead of others. In other words, it’s “first-come first-serve” versus “paying to jump the line.”
What are your reactions or intuitions to any of the cases he describes? Do you think in some cases we should follow one norm rather than the other, or should one norm, whether the market norm or the queuing norm, cover all cases?
