Reviews
Michael Sandel's What Money Can't Buy is a great book and I recommend every economist to read it, even though we are not really his target audience. The book is pitched at a much wider audience of concerned citizens. But it taps into a rich seam of discontent about the discipline of economics.... The book is brimming with interesting examples which make you think.... I read this book cover-to-cover in less than 48 hours. And I have written more marginal notes than for any book I have read in a long time., Deeply provocative and intellectually suggestive.... What Sandel does...is to prod us into asking whether we have any reason for drawing a line between what is and what isn't exchangeable, what can't be reduced to commodity terms.... [A] wake-up call to recognize our desperate need to rediscover some intelligible way of talking about humanity., In his new book, Michael Sandel --the closest the world of political philosophy comes to a celebrity -- argues that we now live in a society where 'almost everything can be bought and sold.' As markets have infiltrated more parts of life, Sandel believes we have shifted from a market economy to 'a market society,' turning the world -- and most of us in it -- into commodities. And when Sandel proselytizes, the world listens.... Sandel's ideas could hardly be more timely., What Money Can't Buy is the work of a truly public philosopher. . . [It] recalls John Kenneth Galbraith's influential 1958 book, The Affluent Society. . . Galbraith lamented the impoverishment of the public square. Sandel worries about its abandonment--or, more precisely, its desertion by the more fortunate and capable among us. . .[A]n engaging, compelling read, consistently unsettling. . . it reminds us how easy it is to slip into a purely material calculus about the meaning of life and the means we adopt in pursuit of happiness., "Provocative and intellectually suggestive...amply researched and presented with exemplary clarity, [it] is weighty indeed -- little less than a wake-up call to recognise our desperate need to rediscover some intelligible way of talking about humanity." -- Rowan Williams, Prospect "Brilliant, easily readable, beautifully delivered and often funny...an indispensable book." -- David Aaronovitch, Times "Entertaining and provocative." -- Diane Coyle, Independent "Poring through Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel's new book...I found myself over and over again turning pages and saying, 'I had no idea.' I had no idea that in the year 2000...'a Russian rocket emblazoned with a giant Pizza Hut logo carried advertising into outer space,' or that in 2001, the British novelist Fay Weldon wrote a book commissioned by the jewelry company Bulgari...I knew that stadiums are now named for corporations, but had no idea that now 'even sliding into home is a corporate-sponsored event'...I had no idea that in 2001 an elementary school in New Jersey became America's first public school 'to sell naming rights to a corporate sponsor.'" -- Thomas Friedman, New York Times "A vivid illustration...Let's hope that What Money Can't Buy , by being so patient and so accumulative in its argument and its examples, marks a permanent shift in these debates." -- John Lanchester, Guardian "In a culture mesmerised by the market, Sandel's is the indispensable voice of reason...if we...bring basic values into political life in the way that Sandel suggests, at least we won't be stuck with the dreary market orthodoxies that he has so elegantly demolished." -- John Gray, New Statesman " What Money Can't Buy is replete with examples of what money can, in fact, buy...Sandel has a genius for showing why such changes are deeply important." -- Martin Sandbu, Financial Times "Sandel is a political philosopher who makes us think about what it means to be good." -- Andrew Anthony, The Guardian "What Mr. Sandel does not offer is prescriptions for rolling back the clock. He is such a gentle critic that he merely asks us to open our eyes...Yet What Money Can't Buy makes it clear that market morality is an exceptionally thin wedge." -- Jonathan V. Last, The Wall Street Journal "Sandel is probably the world's most relevant living philosopher, thanks to the hugely popular course he teaches at Harvard, 'Justice' ...To make his argument Sandel stays focused on the everyday; he's a practical philosopher. He asks what it says about us that we employed more mercenaries than U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan? What about the idea that we should sell immigration rights? Does that cheapen the idea of citizenship?" -- Michael Fitzgerald, Newsweek "There is no more fundamental question we face than how to best preserve the common good and build strong communities that benefit everyone. Sandel's book is an excellent starting place for that dialogue." -- Kevin J. Hamilton, The Seattle Times "Sandel...sounds the alarm that the belief in a market economy diminishes moral thought...An exquisitely reasoned, skillfully written treatise on big issues of everyday life." -- Kirkus Review, To understand the importance of [Sandel's] purpose, you first have to grasp the full extent of the triumph achieved by market thinking in economics, and the extent to which that thinking has spread to other domains. This school sees economics as a discipline that has nothing to do with morality, and is instead the study of incentives, considered in an ethical vacuum. Sandel's book is, in its calm way, an all-out assault on that idea.... Let's hope that What Money Can't Buy , by being so patient and so accumulative in its argument and its examples, marks a permanent shift in these debates., Praise for Justice : " Justice , the new volume from superstar Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel, showcases the thinking on public morality that has made him one of the most sought-after lecturers in the world" -- Richard Reeves, Democracy "In terms we can all understand, [ Justice ] confronts us with the concepts that lurk, so often unacknowledged, beneath our conflicts." -- Jonathan Rauch, The New York Times Book Review "More than exhilarating; exciting in its ability to persuade this student/reader, time and again, that the principle now being invoked -- on this page, in this chapter -- is the one to deliver the sufficiently inclusive guide to the making of a decent life." -- Vivian Gornick, Boston Review "Hard cases may make bad law, but in Michael Sandel's hands they produce some cool philosophy... Justice is a timely plea for us to desist from political bickering and see if we can have a sensible discussion about what sort of society we really want to live in." -- Jonathan Ree, The Observer (London) "Michael J. Sandel, political philosopher and public intellectual, is a liberal, but not the annoying sort. His aim is not to boss people around but to bring them around to the pleasures of thinking clearly about large questions of social policy. Reading this lucid book is like taking his famous undergraduate course Justice without the tiresome parts, such as term papers and exams." -- George F. Will " Justice is Sandel at his finest: no matter what your views are, his delightful style will draw you in, and he'll then force you to rethink your assumptions and challenge you to question accepted ways of thinking...He calls us to a better way of doing politics, and a more enriching way of living our lives." -- E. J. Dionne, Jr., Praise for Michael Sandel and What Money Can't Buy: "Sandel is a political philosopher who makes us think about what it means to be good."-Andrew Anthony, The Guardian "What Mr. Sandel does not offer is prescriptions for rolling back the clock. He is such a gentle critic that he merely asks us to open our eyes. . . Yet What Money Can't Buy makes it clear that market morality is an exceptionally thin wedge."-Jonathan V. Last, The Wall Street Journal "Sandel is probably the world's most relevant living philosopher, thanks to the hugely popular course he teaches at Harvard, 'Justice' . . . To make his argument Sandel stays focused on the everyday; he's a practical philosopher. He asks what it says about us that we employed more mercenaries than U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan? What about the idea that we should sell immigration rights? Does that cheapen the idea of citizenship?"-Michael Fitzgerald, Newsweek "There is no more fundamental question we face than how to best preserve the common good and build strong communities that benefit everyone. Sandel's book is an excellent starting place for that dialogue."-Kevin J. Hamilton, The Seattle Times "Sandel. . . sounds the alarm that the belief in a market economy diminishes moral thought. . . An exquisitely reasoned, skillfully written treatise on big issues of everyday life."- Kirkus Review , Poring through Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel's new book. . . I found myself over and over again turning pages and saying, 'I had no idea.' I had no idea that in the year 2000, 'a Russian rocket emblazoned with a giant Pizza Hut logo carried advertising into outer space.'. . . I knew that stadiums are now named for corporations, but had no idea that now 'even sliding into home is a corporate-sponsored event.'. . . I had no idea that in 2001 an elementary school in New Jersey became America's first public school 'to sell naming rights to a corporate sponsor.' Why worry about this trend? Because, Sandel argues, market values are crowding out civic practices., In a culture mesmerized by the market, Sandel's is the indispensable voice of reason.... What Money Can't Buy . . . must surely be one of the most important exercises in public philosophy in many years., One of the leading political thinkers of our time.... Sandel's new book is What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets , and I recommend it highly. It's a powerful indictment of the market society we have become, where virtually everything has a price., Praise for Michael Sandel and What Money Can''t Buy: "Provocative and intellectually suggestive. . . amply researched and presented with exemplary clarity, [it] is weighty indeed - little less than a wake-up call to recognise our desperate need to rediscover some intelligible way of talking about humanity."-Rowan Williams, Prospect "Brilliant, easily readable, beautifully delivered and often funny. . . an indispensable book."-David Aaronovitch, Times "Entertaining and provocative."-Diane Coyle, Independent "Poring through Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel''s new book. . . I found myself over and over again turning pages and saying, ''I had no idea.'' I had no idea that in the year 2000. . . ''a Russian rocket emblazoned with a giant Pizza Hut logo carried advertising into outer space,'' or that in 2001, the British novelist Fay Weldon wrote a book commissioned by the jewelry company Bulgari. . . I knew that stadiums are now named for corporations, but had no idea that now ''even sliding into home is a corporate-sponsored event''. . . I had no idea that in 2001 an elementary school in New Jersey became America''s first public school ''to sell naming rights to a corporate sponsor.''"-Thomas Friedman, New York Times "A vivid illustration ... Let''s hope that What Money Can''t Buy , by being so patient and so accumulative in its argument and its examples, marks a permanent shift in these debates."-John Lanchester, Guardian "In a culture mesmerised by the market, Sandel''s is the indispensable voice of reason. . . if we. . . bring basic values into political life in the way that Sandel suggests, at least we won''t be stuck with the dreary market orthodoxies that he has so elegantly demolished."- John Gray, New Statesman " What Money Can''t Buy is replete with examples of what money can, in fact, buy ... Sandel has a genius for showing why such changes are deeply important."-Martin Sandbu, Financial Times "Sandel is a political philosopher who makes us think about what it means to be good."-Andrew Anthony, The Guardian "Ed Miliband has been reading What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets , Michael Sandel's elegant and provocative critique of ''the era of market triumphalism.'' According to the Harvard professor, ''Our only hope of keeping markets in their place is to deliberate openly and publicly about the meaning of the goods and social practices we prize. . . the question of markets is really a question about how we want to live together.'' It is no surprise that this particular monograph should appeal to the Labour leader at this particular moment, when precisely the same questions - and more besides - are being confronted, for the highest stakes, across a continent."-Matthew d''Ancona, Evening Standard "What Mr. Sandel does not offer is prescriptions for rolling back the clock. He is such a gentle critic that he merely asks us to open our eyes. . .Yet What Money Can''t Buy makes it clear that market morality is an exceptionally thin wedge."-Jonathan V. Last, The Wall Street Journal "Sandel is probably the world's most relevant living philosopher, thanks to the hugely popular course he teaches at Harvard, 'Justice' . . . To make his argument Sandel stays focused on the everyday; he's a practical philosopher. He asks what it says about us that we employed more mercenaries than U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan? What about the idea that we should sell immigration rights? Does that cheapen the idea of citizenship?"-Michael Fitzgerald, Newsweek "There is no more fundamental question we face than how to best preserve the common good and build strong communities that benefit everyone. Sandel''s book is an excellent starting place for that dialogue."-Kevin J. Hamilton, The Seattle Times "Sandel. . . sounds the alarm that the belief in a market economy diminishes moral thought. . . An exquisitely reasoned, skillfully written treatise on big issues of everyday life."- Kirkus Review, Brilliant, easily readable, beautifully delivered and often funny. . . an indispensable book on the relationship between morality and economics., Praise for Justice :" Justice , the new volume from superstar Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel, showcases the thinking on public morality that has made him one of the most sought-after lecturers in the world." -Richard Reeves, Democracy "In terms we can all understand, [ Justice ] confronts us with the concepts that lurk, so often unacknowledged, beneath our conflicts." -Jonathan Rauch, The New York Times Book Review "More than exhilarating; exciting in its ability to persuade this student/reader, time and again, that the principle now being invoked-on this page, in this chapter-is the one to deliver the sufficiently inclusive guide to the making of a decent life." -Vivian Gornick, Boston Review "Hard cases may make bad law, but in Michael Sandel's hands they produce some cool philosophy . . . Justice is a timely plea for us to desist from political bickering and see if we can have a sensible discussion about what sort of society we really want to live in." -Jonathan Rée, The Observer (London)"Michael J. Sandel, political philosopher and public intellectual, is a liberal, but not the annoying sort. His aim is not to boss people around but to bring them around to the pleasures of thinking clearly about large questions of social policy. Reading this lucid book is like taking his famous undergraduate course Justice without the tiresome parts, such as term papers and exams." -George F. Will" Justice is Sandel at his finest: no matter what your views are, his delightful style will draw you in, and he'll then force you to rethink your assumptions and challenge you to question accepted ways of thinking . . . He calls us to a better way of doing politics, and a more enriching way of living our lives." -E. J. Dionne, Jr., There is no more fundamental question we face than how to best preserve the common good and build strong communities that benefit everyone. Sandel's book is an excellent starting place for that dialogue., Sandel is among the leading public intellectuals of the age. He writes clearly and concisely in prose that neither oversimplifies nor obfuscates.... Sandel asks the crucial question of our time: '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?', [An] important book. . . Michael Sandel is just the right person to get to the bottom of the tangle of moral damage that is being done by markets to our values., The most famous teacher of philosophy in the world, [has] shown that it is possible to take philosophy into the public square without insulting the public's intelligence. . .[He] is trying to force open a space for a discourse on civic virtue that he believes has been abandoned by both left and right., Michael Sandel is probably the most popular political philosopher of his generation. . .The attention Sandel enjoys is more akin to a stadium-filling self-help guru than a philosopher. But rather than instructing his audiences to maximize earning power or balance their chakras, he challenges them to address fundamental questions about how society is organized. . . His new book [ What Money Can't Buy ] offers an eloquent argument for morality in public life., Provocative. . . What Money Can't Buy [is] an engaging, compelling read, consistently unsettling and occasionally unnerving. . . [It] deserves a wide readership., What Money Can't Buy is replete with examples of what money can, in fact, buy. . . Sandel has a genius for showing why such changes are deeply important., [Sandel]is such a gentle critic that he merely asks us to open our eyes. . . Yet What Money Can't Buy makes it clear that market morality is an exceptionally thin wedge. . . Sandel is pointing out. . . [a] quite profound change in society.
