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HarvardX: MMM Justice Today: Money, Markets, and Morals

Course overview

What should be the role of money and markets in our society? Are there some things that money should not be able to buy? Should people be permitted to buy sex, votes, babies, citizenship, or college admission? What about buying and selling the right to pollute, procreate, immigrate, discriminate, or to hunt endangered species? Should we use markets to govern health care, education, privacy, or criminal law?

The course will consider what moral limits, if any, the law should impose on market exchanges. Drawing upon contemporary moral and political controversies, we will attempt to determine what goods and social practices should not be up for sale.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will:

  • Understand the three philosophical arguments for how goods can be allocated: markets, moral, and virtue

  • Be able to clearly articulate and defend one’s chosen philosophical argument for how goods should be allocated

Course Outline

Here is an outline of the lessons and key questions we will cover:

  • Course Introduction

  • Lesson 1: The Ethics of Supply and Demand: Linestanding

    • Is there anything wrong with scalping tickets for concerts or sporting events, such as the World Series or Super Bowl? What about ticket scalping for other scarce goods, such as doctors’ appointments?

    • What is the meaning of economic efficiency? To what extent should goods be allocated to those most willing and able to pay for them?

  • Lesson 2: The Ethics of Supply and Demand: Price Gouging

    • Should it be illegal to raise prices of essential goods (water, flashlights, gasoline, motel rooms) in the aftermath of a natural disaster?

    • Is there a moral difference between “price gouging” (raising prices in the wake of an emergency) and “price surging” (raising prices during periods of peak demand)?

  • Lesson 3: Environmental Protection: The Walrus Quota

    • Is it immoral to auction the right to shoot an endangered species, even if doing so will help fund conservation?

  • Lesson 4: Consenting Adults: Organ Sales, Sex Work

    • Should it be legal to buy and sell human organs?

    • Should people be free to accept whatever jobs they choose, or should the law prohibit certain risky or degrading forms of employment?

  • Lesson 5: Betting on Life and Death: Life Insurance

    • Is it objectionable to profit from death?

    • What is the moral status of life insurance?

  • Lesson 6: Betting on Life and Death: Death Pools

    • Is it objectionable to profit from death, or to bet on when someone will die?

    • What is the moral status of death bonds, viatical contracts and internet death pools?

  • Lesson 7: Betting on the Housing Market

    • Is it objectionable to profit from the housing market?

    • Should betting on the housing market be made illegal?

    • Is it wrong to bet on the misfortune of others?

  • Lesson 8: Markets in Politics: Voting

    • Is it always wrong to buy or sell votes?

    • If it is wrong to pay people to vote a certain way, is it also wrong to pay them to vote (however they cast their ballot) or not to vote?

    • Is there a distinction between buying votes and making campaign promises that give voters an economic incentive to vote a certain way?

    • What, if anything, is the difference between selling one’s vote and voting according to one’s economic interest?

  • Lesson 9: Markets in Politics: Refugee Quotas and Immigration

    • Is it wrong for countries to sell the right to immigrate?

    • Is there a principled distinction between selling the right to immigrate and foreign investor visa programs (“Golden visas”)?

    • What are the best arguments for and against a system of tradable obligations to admit refugees?

  • Lesson 10: Employment Discrimination: Lookism

    • Can employment discrimination be justified on grounds of satisfying the preferences of customers? If so, under what circumstances?

    • Does it make a difference whether the discrimination involves race or gender?

    • Are there some consumer preferences that are morally illegitimate for a business to serve? If so, how should the law respond?

    • Is it possible to determine what constitutes unjust employment discrimination without inquiring into the essential nature or purpose of the business?

  • Lesson 11: Employment Discrimination: Racial Discrimination and Base Desires

    • What are legitimate grounds for discrimination?

    • What is the legitimate purpose of a business?

    • What are morally legitimate consumer preferences?

    • What role do markets play in hiring practices?

    • What are legitimate preferences that consumers bring to markets?

  • Lesson 12: Markets, Incentives, and Moral Norms

    • Do market mechanisms change the value or meaning of the goods and social practices they regulate?

    • What is the motivational “crowding out” effect, and can it override the “price effect”?

    • Is there a moral difference between a fee and a fine? If so, is this difference relevant to public policy and law?

    • Are altruism and solidarity like commodities that are depleted with use?

  • Conclusion

Grading, Certification, and Course Content

This course has 2 types of graded assignments: check your understanding questions and moral dilemma polls.

Check Your Understanding Questions [40% of final grade]: Throughout the course, you will answer questions related to the topics, concepts, and ideas that are addressed in the videos. You will be able to see the answers to all questions after you have used up your attempts or when you get the answer correct.

Moral Dilemma Polls [60% of final grade]: During key moral dilemmas in the course, you will be asked to complete a poll in which you are able to share your viewpoints and review your classmates thoughts. For each poll question, you first vote on what you think is the right choice and then you give your rationale defending that choice. After you give your answer, you will be presented with rationales both for that choice and the other choices and you choose the rationale that you think is best. All instructions for these assessments can be found within the activities themselves.

Passing the course, and certification

The passing grade for this course is 60% (using the weights above).

Ungraded Activities

Please note that there are also ungraded assessments in the course, including polls and discussion forums.

Readings

Each lesson in the course contains readings that will help you continue learning about the topics and questions that are raised in the course. Please note that graded assessments do not rely on any of the reading content.  Also, please note that chapters from Michael Sandel's books Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? and What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets have been added as recommended reading in some sections.  These books can be purchased at most booksellers, including Amazon.

Discussion Forums

We encourage you to use the course Discussion Forum! It has many uses, and we'll prompt you to participate throughout the course.

Some good uses of the Discussion Forum:

  • Asking questions about course content and assignments.

  • Collaborating appropriately on assignments.

  • Contacting course staff.

  • Starting discussions related to course content.

  • Commenting on course content, including giving the instructors feedback, disagreeing with us, or suggesting improvements.

Our discussion forum guidelines

  • Be polite and encouraging.

  • Work together and work independently.

  • Post hints rather than answers. If you're not sure where to draw the line, follow the collaboration guidelines.

  • You can and should discuss questions, consider possibilities, and ask for hints.

  • You should not request or give out answers, even answers that you know are wrong.

  • Use your vote. If you agree with what someone says, don't write a post. Just click the plus button!

  • Course staff will check the forums regularly.

Honor code statement

HarvardX requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. HarvardX will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the HarvardX course; revocation of any certificates received for the HarvardX course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations. Enrollees who are taking HarvardX courses as part of another program will also be governed by the academic policies of those programs.

Nondiscrimination/anti-harassment statement

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Research Statement

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