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Individual Course

Justice Today: Money, Markets, and Morals

Course Length

8 weeks

2-4 hours per week

Featuring faculty from:

Harvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences LogoHarvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences

Should everything be for sale? Led by award-winning Professor Michael J. Sandel, this course explores various “needs” and whether they abuse market mechanisms.

Should you be able to buy a vote, citizenship, or college admission? Would you bet on someone else’s life—or, more accurately their death date? What about paying to see the exploitation of a person?

Competition, status, and greed often cause one’s moral compass to move in the wrong direction, but if there is a market to support these macabre sales, then the question to consider is this: Are there certain moral and civic goods, that markets do not honor, and money cannot buy?

Deciding case-by-case the ethical considerations to determine when and if people’s rights are violated, you will immerse yourself in videos from the Institute for New Economic Thinking , learning alongside a global cohort of peers—engaging in discussion and debating the moral dividing line.

Led by award-winning Harvard Professor Michael J. Sandel, professor of the popular HarvardX course Justice, you will explore topics that might sound familiar, like price gouging and human organ sales—but have you thought of linestanding, refugee quotas, or lookism? This course will take a deep dive into various “needs” and whether they abuse market mechanisms.

Should everything be for sale without limits?

The course will be delivered via edX and connect learners around the world.

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Syllabus

Course syllabus and materials:

Faculty

Your Instructor

Michael J. Sandel

Michael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he teaches political philosophy. His course "Justice" has enrolled more than 15,000 Harvard students. Sandel's writings have been published in 21 languages.

This program has provided me with valuable insights and thought-provoking perspectives on justice, economics, and ethics in the modern world. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have learned from such high-quality academic content and to engage with ideas that are both timely and impactful.

Wallisson O.

An example HarvardX certificate

Ways to take this course

Audit or Pursue a Verified Certificate

A Verified Certificate costs $149 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate.

⁠Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums. Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.

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