Why markets and morals don't fit
We are moving towards a world where everything is up for sale, from standing in line to the right to pollute – and that's bad for all of us
...There is something distasteful about touting tickets to see a doctor. For one thing, the system rewards unsavoury middlemen rather than those who provide the care. Doctors could well ask why, if appointments are worth so much, most of the money should go to touts rather than to them, or to the hospitals. Economists might agree and advise hospitals to raise their prices. In fact, some Beijing hospitals have added special ticket windows, where the appointments are more expensive and the queues much shorter.
But regardless of who cashes in on the excess demand – the touts or the hospital – the fast track system raises a more basic question: should patients be able to jump the queue for medical care simply because they can afford to pay extra? In airports, amusement parks and hospital waiting rooms, the ethic of the queue – "first come, first served" – is being displaced by the ethic of the market – "you get what you pay for".
And this shift reflects something bigger: the growing reach of money and markets into new spheres of life. Consider the proliferation of private schools and hospitals, and the outsourcing of war to private military contractors. Consider the eclipse of public police forces by private security firms – especially in Britain and the US, where the number of private guards is more than twice the number of public police officers. Consider, too, the reach of commercial advertising into schools; the sale of "naming rights" to parks and civic spaces; the marketing of "designer" eggs and sperm for assisted reproduction; the outsourcing of pregnancy to surrogate mothers in the developing world; the buying and selling, by companies and countries, of the right to pollute.
Why worry that we are moving towards a society in which everything is up for sale? For two reasons: one is about inequality; the other is about corruption. In a society where everything is for sale, life is harder for those of modest means. The more money can buy, the more affluence (or the lack of it) matters. But also, putting a price on the good things in life can corrupt them. Paying children to read books might get them to read more, but it might also teach them to regard reading as a chore rather than a source of intrinsic satisfaction. Sometimes, market values crowd out nonmarket values worth caring about.
For years, Switzerland had been trying to find a place to store radioactive nuclear waste. Although the country relies heavily on nuclear energy, few communities wanted nuclear waste to reside in their midst. One location designated as a potential nuclear waste site was the small mountain village of Wolfenschiessen, in central Switzerland. In 1993, shortly before a referendum on the issue, some economists surveyed the residents of the village, asking whether they would vote to accept a nuclear waste repository in their community, if the Swiss parliament decided to build it there. Although the facility was widely viewed as an undesirable addition to the neighbourhood, a slim majority (51%) of residents said they would accept it. Apparently their sense of civic duty outweighed their concern about the risks. Then the economists added a sweetener: suppose parliament proposed building the nuclear waste facility in your community and offered to compensate each resident with an annual monetary payment. Then would you favour it?
The result: support went down, not up. Adding the financial inducement cut the rate of acceptance in half, from 51 to 25%. What's more, upping the ante didn't help. When the economists increased the monetary offer, the result was unchanged. The residents stood firm even when offered yearly cash payments... http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/11/too-rich-to-queue
...There is something distasteful about touting tickets to see a doctor. For one thing, the system rewards unsavoury middlemen rather than those who provide the care. Doctors could well ask why, if appointments are worth so much, most of the money should go to touts rather than to them, or to the hospitals. Economists might agree and advise hospitals to raise their prices. In fact, some Beijing hospitals have added special ticket windows, where the appointments are more expensive and the queues much shorter.
But regardless of who cashes in on the excess demand – the touts or the hospital – the fast track system raises a more basic question: should patients be able to jump the queue for medical care simply because they can afford to pay extra? In airports, amusement parks and hospital waiting rooms, the ethic of the queue – "first come, first served" – is being displaced by the ethic of the market – "you get what you pay for".
And this shift reflects something bigger: the growing reach of money and markets into new spheres of life. Consider the proliferation of private schools and hospitals, and the outsourcing of war to private military contractors. Consider the eclipse of public police forces by private security firms – especially in Britain and the US, where the number of private guards is more than twice the number of public police officers. Consider, too, the reach of commercial advertising into schools; the sale of "naming rights" to parks and civic spaces; the marketing of "designer" eggs and sperm for assisted reproduction; the outsourcing of pregnancy to surrogate mothers in the developing world; the buying and selling, by companies and countries, of the right to pollute.
Why worry that we are moving towards a society in which everything is up for sale? For two reasons: one is about inequality; the other is about corruption. In a society where everything is for sale, life is harder for those of modest means. The more money can buy, the more affluence (or the lack of it) matters. But also, putting a price on the good things in life can corrupt them. Paying children to read books might get them to read more, but it might also teach them to regard reading as a chore rather than a source of intrinsic satisfaction. Sometimes, market values crowd out nonmarket values worth caring about.
For years, Switzerland had been trying to find a place to store radioactive nuclear waste. Although the country relies heavily on nuclear energy, few communities wanted nuclear waste to reside in their midst. One location designated as a potential nuclear waste site was the small mountain village of Wolfenschiessen, in central Switzerland. In 1993, shortly before a referendum on the issue, some economists surveyed the residents of the village, asking whether they would vote to accept a nuclear waste repository in their community, if the Swiss parliament decided to build it there. Although the facility was widely viewed as an undesirable addition to the neighbourhood, a slim majority (51%) of residents said they would accept it. Apparently their sense of civic duty outweighed their concern about the risks. Then the economists added a sweetener: suppose parliament proposed building the nuclear waste facility in your community and offered to compensate each resident with an annual monetary payment. Then would you favour it?
The result: support went down, not up. Adding the financial inducement cut the rate of acceptance in half, from 51 to 25%. What's more, upping the ante didn't help. When the economists increased the monetary offer, the result was unchanged. The residents stood firm even when offered yearly cash payments... http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/11/too-rich-to-queue
