No wonder this sense of common-ality and connection is unraveling. The less we are needed or asked to be civic-minded, the less we are called on for civic duty, the less we as a citizenry are aware, prepared, practiced or attentive to those needs. Getting paid to do something they had volunteered for actually depreciates their intrinsic interest and commitment. The study found that paying people to give blood “led to chronic shortages, wasted blood, higher costs and a greater risk of contaminated blood.” Volunteers, when they begin getting paid to do something, find it less rewarding. Traditional economics would suggest that paying people to give blood would boost supply, for you have both the motivation of wanting to help others and the financial motivation to give blood. But here in the U.S., there is a combination of donations and blood banks that pay people to give blood. In the U.K., all blood is donated without compensation. Here is an example Sandel gives: There was a study done comparing blood donation systems in the U.K. But there is a price-and that price is the loss of those other values. In fact, the common narrative is that market values are good in all ways-that they provide the efficient distribution of resources and that markets should dictate all aspects of our lives. And nowhere is there a real conversation about where market values make sense and where other values should lead. The market has invaded areas that previously were determined by values related to what it means to have a good society, values aimed at achieving a common good. Sandel argues that market values have pervaded almost all areas of our lives and our society. Liberty, democracy, equality, a commitment to the common good-these are values we say are foundational to the U.S., and yet it is another value that has been slowly reshaping our society. And this fosters disillusionment, regardless of political persuasion, with government and public officials because of their inability to act for the public good or address questions that matter most. There seems so little capacity in our public discourse for this kind of reflection and debate. Integrity requires not only clarity about which values matter most, but also the ability to reflect on our actions and to gauge their alignment with those values. Slogans and sound bites and personal attacks do not make room for real discussions of values and how to protect them and to live them. The heated and often vitriolic debates of contemporary politics are a reflection of how really empty they are. What does it mean to live a good life? What does the common good look like? What are our civic responsibilities? What is essential for the protection of liberty and democracy? What does equality look like? So a lack of integrity would be when a group’s actions and practices violate or negate who they say they are.īut what about as a country? In his book, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, Harvard professor Michael Sandel says a significant problem in the US is that our political discussions no longer really grapple with conversations about values. Just as for an individual, integrity in community is a measure of the alignment between what a community, organization or society says about what it values, and its actions, intentions, behaviors and policies. But what about communities? What about congregations, denominations, governments and societies? It is important because it requires both clarity about what we value most and the ability to be reflective about our actions and our lives. Integrity is one of the most important character traits we can develop.
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