Living in a Morally Corrupt Society Essay Example
Brandi Smithers
18 October 2012
Professor James
Essay #1 Final Draft
Living in a Morally Corrupt and Market Driven Society Our society is a corrupt one, without a doubt. Built on morals and ethics that have lost prominence and importance, our society and the people who it is composed of have quickly made our market economy something awful that was never intended. A market economy is essentially a harmless, productive way of organizing activity and trade; unfortunately, society has lost sight of the good intentions and has “drifted from having a market economy to being a market society (Sandel 10). People have let greed for money and for success consume them. No longer is the market a tool for organization. Instead, it is now a way of life. Having the upper-hand in the market, means one is better off. What caused this change in society? Greed. Market triumphalism became the goal of many when they let greed overpower integrity (Sandel 6). Greed is the devil inside the market. It creates a moral dilemma by causing people to have a desire from market triumphalism so strong that they are “led to irresponsible risk taking” as means of obtaining what they long for (Sandal 6). People start to question if the morals instilled in their mind can be stretched farther and farther until they become “morally vacant” (Sandal 13). The market has put a price on things never meant to be associated with a dollar sign such as time and ultimately, our lives.
Historically, the need to “organize the production and distribution of goods” generated the idea of a market economy; though once widely accepted, “markets… have come to govern our lives as never before” (Sandal 6). In today’s society the market has a negative impact on a majority of adults and a surprising amount of children. It is becoming more and more common to see adults using incentives to motivate children to the right thing. For example, parents and schools often offer cash incentive for good grades (Sandal 51). Not
18 October 2012
Professor James
Essay #1 Final Draft
Living in a Morally Corrupt and Market Driven Society Our society is a corrupt one, without a doubt. Built on morals and ethics that have lost prominence and importance, our society and the people who it is composed of have quickly made our market economy something awful that was never intended. A market economy is essentially a harmless, productive way of organizing activity and trade; unfortunately, society has lost sight of the good intentions and has “drifted from having a market economy to being a market society (Sandel 10). People have let greed for money and for success consume them. No longer is the market a tool for organization. Instead, it is now a way of life. Having the upper-hand in the market, means one is better off. What caused this change in society? Greed. Market triumphalism became the goal of many when they let greed overpower integrity (Sandel 6). Greed is the devil inside the market. It creates a moral dilemma by causing people to have a desire from market triumphalism so strong that they are “led to irresponsible risk taking” as means of obtaining what they long for (Sandal 6). People start to question if the morals instilled in their mind can be stretched farther and farther until they become “morally vacant” (Sandal 13). The market has put a price on things never meant to be associated with a dollar sign such as time and ultimately, our lives.
Historically, the need to “organize the production and distribution of goods” generated the idea of a market economy; though once widely accepted, “markets… have come to govern our lives as never before” (Sandal 6). In today’s society the market has a negative impact on a majority of adults and a surprising amount of children. It is becoming more and more common to see adults using incentives to motivate children to the right thing. For example, parents and schools often offer cash incentive for good grades (Sandal 51). Not