Diana Ortega
Global Business Environment
February 10th, 2012
Recent Demoralization of Our Markets
Many have said that money cannot buy happiness, however in Santa Ana, California it can provide you with a jail cell upgrade for $90 a night, or the right to immigrate into the United States at a modest price of $500,000 (Sandel, 2012). Over the past decade, certain services and goods that were once thought to be found in the black market are now entering our market. It is as if every time our country faces a financial crisis, the market experiences a noticeable detachment from morals. Greed and unnecessary risk taking have been the prime suspects (Sandel, 2012). In Sandel’s 2012 article, What Isn’t for Sale, he explains the difference between our old market economy, where government was in charge of regulating our economy by implementing specific laws and policies, and the emerging market society. Market society, as Sandel explains, is where almost everything is up for sale. This idea was introduced in the 1980’s after the Cold War, when competition and the hunger for money were big (2012). Sandel suggests that inequality is a major culprit for a demoralized market and urges everyone to regain control of our market and our morals.
It is necessary to introduce morals back into the market to control what can and cannot be sold. Without control in our markets, it seems everything and anything is up for sale. It is all fun and games until we realize that some are getting exploited at others expense. We were all born with the same natural rights, yet a rich man can afford to buy his own security while others whose income is not as big have to wait for the police to arrive for at least ten minutes. Money and class has become very prominent today, if you are not rich or highly educated you are not seen. The middle and lower class want to erase that difference by purchasing the same products that the rich can afford and are
References: Kristoff, Nicholas D. May 30. 2012. “Markets and Morals.” New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/opinion/kristof-markets-and-morals.html Sandel, Michael J. April. 2012. “What Isn’t for Sale.” Atlantic Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/04/what-isnt-for-sale/308902/