Assignment Task:
Sandel suggests that motherhood and military service might be things that are beyond price, goods that should not be exchanged on the free market. Whether or not you agree with him on those two specific issues, are there things that money should not be able to buy?
For the purposes of this discussion, we will define the free market as the exchange of goods and services for monetary compensation among consenting adults (for example, a "free market" would not advocate selling alcohol to children, human trafficking, slavery, etc.).
Respond to one of the following two prompts with a substantive and detailed argument:
If you agree that there are some things that should not be for sale because attaching a price to something fundamentally degrades that good or service:
Name a good or service that money should not be able to buy (apart from things mentioned in the book or in my lectures). This should be something that, conceivably, has the potential to be traded on the free market (for example, don't say "happiness;" it's impossible to purchase happiness).
Explain and defend your reasoning why we should restrict its trade in the free market.
We want to know what things might be fundamentally degraded when offered for sale, not what goods and services you think should be offered for "free" or at a discount.
The case for free markets typically rests on two claims-one about freedom, the other about welfare.
The first is the libertarian case for markets. It says that letting people engage in voluntary exchanges respects their freedom; laws that interfere with the free market violate individual liberty.
The second is the utilitarian argument for markets. It says that free markets promote the general welfare; when two people make a deal, both gains. As long as their deal makes them better off without hurting anyone else, it must increase overall utility. (Sandel 75)
How might a utilitarian or libertarian argument in favor of free markets fall short in the case of offering this particular good or service in the free market?