Sandel’s Book - Chapter 1 - What Money Can’t Buy

21. March. 2015

CRP n° 7

        In the first chapter of Sandel’s book, What Money Can’t Buy, Sandel tackles the question the process and practice of « fast tracking » through a queue. Is it ethical to allow those who are willing to pay more to jump to the front of a long line, either at the airport, doctors office, or on Capital Hill? Sandel argues that markets and queues – paying and waiting – are two different ways of allocating things, and each is appropriate to different activities.

        Sandel feels that the ethic of the queue, has an egalitarian appeal. It bids us to ignore privilege, power, and deep pockets. You wait your turn and don’t cut in line. He writes, « The principle seems apt on playgrounds, at bus stops, and when there’s a line for the public restroom at a theatre or ballpark. We resent people cutting in front of us. If someone with an urgent need asks to jump the queue, most people will oblige. But we’d consider it odd if someone at the back of the line offered us $10 to trade places—or if the management set up express pay toilets alongside the free ones, to accommodate affluent customers. » (pg.19) Sandel then goes on to counter is argument of the « ethic of the queue » by saying the ethic does not govern all occasions. If a family puts their house up for sale, the family is under no obligation to accept the first offer that comes along.

        Sandel’s argument shows that almost everything is able to be sold and that there seems to be a large enough market of impatient people who are willing to buy into it. He argues that there is nothing unethical with this process, it’s just a notion that the free markets allocate goods efficiently rather it be via ticket scalping or fast track lanes at airport security. Not everyone agrees with Mr. Sandel’s ideas, especially those involved with running the Shakespeare in the Park festival in New York City. The city puts on the festival every summer, free of charge, for locals to have the chance to experience live theatre, without draining their pockets, but in recent years, wealthier citizens have hired line standers, to wait in queue for them, and then resale the ‹ free › tickets for around $125. A spokesperson for the Shakespeare in the Park festival said, « They are taking a spot away and a ticket away from someone who wants to be there and is eager to see a production of Shakespeare in the Park. We want people to have that experience for free. » (pg. 15) Fortunately or unfortunately, makes tend to « discriminate » in favour of people who have the most money and there is no reason to accuse that the willingness to pay for a good is a better measure of its value to a person than the willingness to wait.