Lecture on Solidarity by Michael Sandel
Read the welcome address by Cornelia Klinger
Michael Sandel is an American political philosopher and Professor of Government at Harvard University. He is well known for his Harvard course ‘Justice’ and bestsellers like What Money Can’t Buy (2012) or Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? (2009). His writings have been translated into 21 languages. His legendary course “Justice,” is the first Harvard course to be made freely available online and on television. It has been viewed by millions of people around the world, including in China, where Sandel was named the “most influential foreign figure of the year.” (China Newsweek) Sandel’s new book, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, takes on one of the biggest ethical questions of our time: Is there something wrong with a world in which everything is for sale? If so, what should be the role of money and markets in our society? Critics have called it “a brilliant, indispensable book on the relationship between morality and economics,” and “one of the most important exercises in public philosophy in many years.” Like his previous book, Justice, an international best seller, What Money Can’t Buy has generated interest around the world, including in London, where 2,000 people packed St. Paul’s Cathedral for his recent book tour, and in Seoul, Korea, where 14,000 people filled an outdoor stadium to hear him speak. In the U.S., Sandel has served on the President’s Council on Bioethics, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a long-time friend of the IWM and a member of its Academic Advisory Board.