READ & LISTEN II TRAck 13: US WOMAN & NEW ZEALAND MAN

these days, you can buy just about anything. But is that a good

thing? Should there be some limits on what we can spend our money on? What Money Can’t Buy, by Michael Sandel, asks a simple question: is there something wrong with a world in which everything is for sale?

In his book, Sandel (who is a Harvard professor and philosopher) provides several examples to illustrate his point. For example, in Dallas, schools pay children $2 for every book they read (to encourage them to read), in some US cities people can pay $10 to drive alone in carpool lanes, and in the EU companies can “buy” the right to emit more pollution.

So, what’s wrong with that? A lot, according to Sandel. He says that we’ve gone from having a market economy to having a “market society”. And he believes there are two problems with this. Firstly, it makes our world less equal – in a place where everything is for sale, poor people have much harder lives. Secondly, he says there are certain areas of our lives (such as education and the environment) that shouldn’t be driven by money. Here are seven more examples of our “market society”. What do you think in each case?

1 Paying to upgrade your prison cell: in Santa Ana, California, minimum security prisoners can upgrade to a

quiet, clean cell for $90 per night.

2 Selling advertising space on your forehead: a single mother in Utah was paid $10,000 to have the name of a casino tattooed on her forehead. She said she needed the money to pay for her son’s education.

3 Paying to go through security more quickly: in some airports passengers can pay to pass more quickly through security checks. Sandel thinks this is wrong because security in airports isn’t a commercial service, but a public good and therefore it shouldn’t be ‘for sale’.

4 Betting on someone’s death: at www.stiffs.com you can win money by betting on which ageing celebrities will die within the next twelve months.

5 Paying for the right to call your doctor after hours: some American doctors give their patients their mobile phone numbers in exchange for between $1,000 and $25,000 per year. If you don’t pay, you can’t call your doctor after hours.

6 Contributing to an election victory: American billionaire Sheldon Adelson has promised $100 million to Mitt Romney’s election campaign, to make sure he beats Barack Obama in November. One political commentator has said it “feels like the buying of democracy.”

7 Paying to go to the front of the queue: in Washington D.C. you can pay www.linestanding.com to arrange for someone to wait in line for you. Why? Well, the queues to get into Congress (to listen to debates and hearings) are often very long. So, Washington lobbyists pay $37 per hour to hire someone (often a homeless person) to wait in line for them. Just before the doors to the hearing open, the lobbyist replaces the “linestander”. Sandel says this is wrong “because in a democratic society everyone should have equal access to government”.

Should there be some things in life that we just can’t buy?

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Answers on page 45

1 Pre-reading If you could buy three things right now (with unlimited funds), what would you buy? Why? What things can’t money buy?

2 Reading I The writer talks about things we shouldn’t be able to buy. Read the article once. Which ones do you agree with? 3 Reading II

Read the article again and answer the questions. 1. How much does it cost

to upgrade your prison cell?

2. How much was the single mother paid to have the tattoo on her forehead?

3. What can you bet on at the website stiffs.com?

4. How much does it cost for the right to call your doctor after hours?

5. How much do you have to pay for someone to stand in the queue for you so you can visit Congress?

Objective: To improve your range of vocabulary.

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought lately? Why did you buy it? Do you think there are some things in society that we shouldn’t be able to buy? What? What are some of the best / worst things you've ever bought?

Think about it!

GLOSSARYto encourage vb if you “encourage” someone to do something, you try to convince them to do ita carpool lane n a special lane (line) in the road where people can drive if they have more than two / three people in the car EU abbr the european Union to emit vb if something “emits” a gas, that gas comes out of it a market economy n a capitalist economy in which prices are based on the supply and demand of goodsto upgrade vb if you “upgrade” something, you pay so you can have a better version of it security n the area in an airport where bags are checked for guns / drugs / bombs, etc. to bet vb to play games for money to beat vb to win against a queue n a line of people waiting to be served in a shop, etc. wait in line exp to wait in a queue (a line of people waiting to be served in a shop, etc.)a lobbyist n a person who tries to persuade a government to change a law a homeless person n a poor person who has no home

A new book about money: what money can’t buy.

money, money, money