Summary Of Life By Michael Sandel
The author of the book, Michael Sandel is considered today as a modern day philosopher and is professor at Harvard University. In this book Sandel looks at the ethical and moral aspects of the market system today. He talks about what how life as a whole has been turned into a market system where everything can be bought and sold including things that ought not to be. Sandel takes up some examples in aspects of life in society like betting on someone’s life, were characteristics of the markets are used in controlling those aspects. He looks at whether it is morally right or wrong for these areas of life in society to be treated like a market system were everything is up for sale. Looking at the case in this book from a social justice point
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Sandel indicates that market values are also used the gambling and betting on people’s life. Believe it or not people actually sit and negotiate on people’s life, whether they will die or live. Sandel illustrates this situation with Janitors insurance and the Viatical business. In this life insurance businesses employers and other people literally just gamble with people’s lives all for the money they will get when the persons dead. Objections that Sandel pointed out concerning the janitors insurance is that should employers take life insurance on the life of their employees without their consent, no, because it objectifies the employee. The companies may treat the employers like objects and to the company some of them will be more profitable dead than alive On this issue placing money on a person’s life is not morally right because it demeans the person as a human being because you are literally praying for the person to die, which does not sound morally right. So if market says that life and death can be commodified there is nothing else that would not be able to be commodified “With the life insurance the company bets on the person’s life. The longer they live, the more money the company makes but with the Viatical the financial interest is reserved. The companies own is that the sooner you die the better for the company” (Sandel 139) ,we cannot live in such a society with such market values, where market has control over everything even our
Sandel indicates that market values are also used the gambling and betting on people’s life. Believe it or not people actually sit and negotiate on people’s life, whether they will die or live. Sandel illustrates this situation with Janitors insurance and the Viatical business. In this life insurance businesses employers and other people literally just gamble with people’s lives all for the money they will get when the persons dead. Objections that Sandel pointed out concerning the janitors insurance is that should employers take life insurance on the life of their employees without their consent, no, because it objectifies the employee. The companies may treat the employers like objects and to the company some of them will be more profitable dead than alive On this issue placing money on a person’s life is not morally right because it demeans the person as a human being because you are literally praying for the person to die, which does not sound morally right. So if market says that life and death can be commodified there is nothing else that would not be able to be commodified “With the life insurance the company bets on the person’s life. The longer they live, the more money the company makes but with the Viatical the financial interest is reserved. The companies own is that the sooner you die the better for the company” (Sandel 139) ,we cannot live in such a society with such market values, where market has control over everything even our