The Infiltration of Markets in America
In Michael Sandel’s essay titled “Markets and Morals,” Sandel comments on the impact of market triumphalism in America: “We drifted from having a market economy to being a market society” (45). This statement identifies a serious issue in modern America. Markets have permeated into all parts of life in the United States. Sandel, a professor of political philosophy at Harvard University, goes on to explain that this issue affects citizens directly; as more aspects of American existence have become available for purchase, material objects have caused division among citizens and the corruption of human experiences has increased (Sandel 40-48). Sandel is correct in this argument; an extraordinary emphasis is placed on the brand an American creates for his or herself, and people categorize objects and experiences based on the price tag associated with them. Due to the infiltration of markets into today’s society, Americans create feelings of division and other emotions by ranking themselves based on the objects they own and, unfortunately, corrupt their own experiences by ranking them based upon cost.
Americans allow material objects in their possession to cause inner feelings of inferiority, superiority, and division within a community. Neighbors compete against one another to own the item that will make their stock rise in the neighborhood. For instance, Americans use the vehicle in their driveway or the cell phone in their pocket as status symbols. I have personal experiences with material objects that affected my thoughts and emotions. Growing up, I played on a traveling basketball team. I enjoyed learning, growing, and competing with my teammates who also doubled as my friends. When I first joined the team, the vehicles the parents drove to the basketball tournaments were not important to me. I would ride with the rest of my family in my dad’s pick-up or my mom’s old car and play ball. I did not care how the rest of my comrades got to the games; I just wanted to compete. My mindset began to change when one of my teammate's parents purchased a Chevrolet Tahoe. This had a domino effect on, seemingly, every other adult with a child on the team. Tahoes and other full-size SUVs filled the parking lot at practice; I felt as if every parent needed to fit in with the others by purchasing that type of car. I started to wonder why my family did not own one of these vehicles. Were we poor? Was my family laughed at for the cars we owned? Did I fit in with the rest of the team? Feelings of inferiority would wash over me when I arrived at practice or competitions. The questions I asked myself and the feelings that overcame me, I realized afterward, were ridiculous. I was not beneath my friends because of the car my mom or dad used. I now know that the parents of my teammates and I had been affected by the market mentality that exists throughout the United States. We felt our rank within the team would increase because of the machine we drove. When I stopped playing on the team, I no longer experienced those thoughts and feelings. However, this was not the last time I would let material objects control my thoughts about my place in society.
My thinking was once again affected by commodities at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school. The day I was due for an upgrade to my phone coincided with the release date of the iPhone 6s. I can still remember my feeling of excitement when I busted open the box of my new phone. I had never owned the newest or fanciest electronic. That night, I went to a bonfire where I saw several of my friends. Whenever they saw my phone for the first time, it seemed to me, they were impressed. By the time the fire was extinguished, my ego was burning brightly from all the compliments I received for my phone. A feeling of superiority filled my head. As I pulled into my driveway afterwards, the emotion wore off, and I was left to think about what the new phone had created within me. I felt superior to my friends because of a small object in my pocket. In these stories, I was not unique from Americans across the country who experience these same feelings of division based on the objects in their possessions. The norms and standards set by markets in American society heavily influenced the feelings in these narratives. Inner feelings of self-worth within the community, however, are not the only aspects of life markets have an impact on; experiences are affected as well.
The mentality created by markets in the United States has corrupted the reasons Americans appreciate experiences. Millions of Americans take vacations or go on adventures with friends and family every year. As markets have invaded American lives, the trips are no longer about the experience itself, but the cost involved. I have first-hand encounters with this effect created by markets. When I was ten years old, my family spent Christmas vacation in Phoenix, Arizona. During the trip, we stayed in a five-star Marriott hotel with a heated pool and a breakfast featuring a chef who cooked eggs right in front of me. I knew the hotel had to be expensive, and, it later struck me, that was the main reason I enjoyed it. I was not focused on the family memories or the bonds that grew stronger between my brother and me; instead, I was focused on the nightly rate of the hotel. Unfortunately, I did not learn to prevent the market mentality from affecting my thinking about an experience; I ran into similar issues on a trip a few years later.
When my family chose to venture into South Dakota, I tried not to focus on the cost of the trip despite the pressure to do so from American society. Sadly, I found myself making the same mistakes I made in Arizona. I often thought about the price of the expensive hotel we stayed at instead of the connections I built with my family. I allowed the trip to be corrupted by appreciating the cost of the trip. Most Americans, myself included, struggle to see past the blinders created by the markets in their society. They do not think highly of experiences because of the friends that go with them or the memories made along the way; they think highly of experiences that force them to hand over the most cash. In the mind of an American, an experience is better if it is more expensive. Instead of reminiscing on the fond moments of an adventure, Americans corrupt their experiences by focusing on the amount of money paid for them.
Americans have allowed markets and market mentality to create division and corruption in their lives. In their minds, material objects should determine a citizen’s personal rank within a community, and the worth of a human experience can be written on a receipt. Michael Sandel is correct in calling the United States a market society in his essay “Markets and Morals.” Markets have their place not only in the American economy, but also have become entangled with society.
Works Cited
Sandel, Michael. “Markets and Morals.” Acting out Culture , 3rd ed., Bedford St. Martin's, 2015, pp. 40–48.
Americans allow material objects in their possession to cause inner feelings of inferiority, superiority, and division within a community. Neighbors compete against one another to own the item that will make their stock rise in the neighborhood. For instance, Americans use the vehicle in their driveway or the cell phone in their pocket as status symbols. I have personal experiences with material objects that affected my thoughts and emotions. Growing up, I played on a traveling basketball team. I enjoyed learning, growing, and competing with my teammates who also doubled as my friends. When I first joined the team, the vehicles the parents drove to the basketball tournaments were not important to me. I would ride with the rest of my family in my dad’s pick-up or my mom’s old car and play ball. I did not care how the rest of my comrades got to the games; I just wanted to compete. My mindset began to change when one of my teammate's parents purchased a Chevrolet Tahoe. This had a domino effect on, seemingly, every other adult with a child on the team. Tahoes and other full-size SUVs filled the parking lot at practice; I felt as if every parent needed to fit in with the others by purchasing that type of car. I started to wonder why my family did not own one of these vehicles. Were we poor? Was my family laughed at for the cars we owned? Did I fit in with the rest of the team? Feelings of inferiority would wash over me when I arrived at practice or competitions. The questions I asked myself and the feelings that overcame me, I realized afterward, were ridiculous. I was not beneath my friends because of the car my mom or dad used. I now know that the parents of my teammates and I had been affected by the market mentality that exists throughout the United States. We felt our rank within the team would increase because of the machine we drove. When I stopped playing on the team, I no longer experienced those thoughts and feelings. However, this was not the last time I would let material objects control my thoughts about my place in society.
My thinking was once again affected by commodities at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school. The day I was due for an upgrade to my phone coincided with the release date of the iPhone 6s. I can still remember my feeling of excitement when I busted open the box of my new phone. I had never owned the newest or fanciest electronic. That night, I went to a bonfire where I saw several of my friends. Whenever they saw my phone for the first time, it seemed to me, they were impressed. By the time the fire was extinguished, my ego was burning brightly from all the compliments I received for my phone. A feeling of superiority filled my head. As I pulled into my driveway afterwards, the emotion wore off, and I was left to think about what the new phone had created within me. I felt superior to my friends because of a small object in my pocket. In these stories, I was not unique from Americans across the country who experience these same feelings of division based on the objects in their possessions. The norms and standards set by markets in American society heavily influenced the feelings in these narratives. Inner feelings of self-worth within the community, however, are not the only aspects of life markets have an impact on; experiences are affected as well.
The mentality created by markets in the United States has corrupted the reasons Americans appreciate experiences. Millions of Americans take vacations or go on adventures with friends and family every year. As markets have invaded American lives, the trips are no longer about the experience itself, but the cost involved. I have first-hand encounters with this effect created by markets. When I was ten years old, my family spent Christmas vacation in Phoenix, Arizona. During the trip, we stayed in a five-star Marriott hotel with a heated pool and a breakfast featuring a chef who cooked eggs right in front of me. I knew the hotel had to be expensive, and, it later struck me, that was the main reason I enjoyed it. I was not focused on the family memories or the bonds that grew stronger between my brother and me; instead, I was focused on the nightly rate of the hotel. Unfortunately, I did not learn to prevent the market mentality from affecting my thinking about an experience; I ran into similar issues on a trip a few years later.
When my family chose to venture into South Dakota, I tried not to focus on the cost of the trip despite the pressure to do so from American society. Sadly, I found myself making the same mistakes I made in Arizona. I often thought about the price of the expensive hotel we stayed at instead of the connections I built with my family. I allowed the trip to be corrupted by appreciating the cost of the trip. Most Americans, myself included, struggle to see past the blinders created by the markets in their society. They do not think highly of experiences because of the friends that go with them or the memories made along the way; they think highly of experiences that force them to hand over the most cash. In the mind of an American, an experience is better if it is more expensive. Instead of reminiscing on the fond moments of an adventure, Americans corrupt their experiences by focusing on the amount of money paid for them.
Americans have allowed markets and market mentality to create division and corruption in their lives. In their minds, material objects should determine a citizen’s personal rank within a community, and the worth of a human experience can be written on a receipt. Michael Sandel is correct in calling the United States a market society in his essay “Markets and Morals.” Markets have their place not only in the American economy, but also have become entangled with society.
Works Cited
Sandel, Michael. “Markets and Morals.” Acting out Culture , 3rd ed., Bedford St. Martin's, 2015, pp. 40–48.