What Money Can't Buy

Actual Text 1: “Why should I care if, somewhere, an investor is hoping I die? Perhaps I shouldn’t’ care, provided he doesn’t act on his hope or call too often to ask of my condition. Maybe its merely creepy, not to mention objectionable. Or perhaps the moral problem lies not in any tangible harm to me but in the corrosive effect of the character of the investor.” (Sandel; 139)

Response 1: Chapter 4 has a concerning topic, Viaticles, which particularly got me thinking about the various kinds of morals different individuals have. Essentially, viaticles are a type of life insurance for people with a terminal illness. Investors buy the policy depending on the expectant life of the ill patient. When the patient passes away, investors get the money they initially put into the case. Sandel says that many times patients are called constantly by their investors asking about their condition but many times have the wrong intention. Investors frequently ask for health updates to know when the patient dies so they can collect the money. This is absolutely horrifying.

Actual Text 2: “Like viaticals, death pools are morally disquieting because they traffic in morbidity. But unlike viaticles, they serve no socially useful purpose. They are strictly a form of gambling, a source of profit and amusement.”(Sandel; 143)

Response 2: When has it ever been ethical to bet on people’s lives. Until I read this part of the book I had no idea there were websites that enable such atrocities. This quote has a similar opinion and voice that I have regarding this topic. It is frightening to think that people actually enjoy betting on when others lives will end. Sandel depicts this new death poll phenomenon by what they reveal “about the moral fate of insurance in a market-driven age” (Sandel 143).

More blog posts in this category Common

• The Wound & the Blessing/The Economy of Communion Project Post
• The Crest- Jewel of Wisdom & Work as a Spiritual Practice Post
• "What Money Can't Buy" Blog Post
• Blog Post Ni: FTRN Booklet & Arithmetic of Passion
• Work as a Spiritual Practice (The Transformation of Work)