Michael Sandel teaches political philosophy at Harvard, exploring the most hotly contested moral and political issues of our time.
Why you should listen
Michael Sandel is one of the best known American public intellectuals. London Observer calls him a "master of life's big questions" while Newsweek describes him as "the most relevant living philosopher" and a "rock-star moralist."
Sandel's latest book, The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?, shows how the divide between winners and losers has poisoned our politics and driven us apart, and points the way to a new politics of the common good. His books Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? and What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets were international best sellers and have been translated into 27 languages. His legendary course, "Justice," is the first Harvard course to be made freely available online and has been viewed by tens of millions.
Sandel's BBC series The Global Philosopher explores the ethical questions lying behind the headlines with audiences around the world, on issues such as immigration, climate change, new technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic. His lecture tours have taken him across five continents and packed such venues as St. Paul's Cathedral (London), the Sydney Opera House (Australia) and an outdoor stadium in Seoul (South Korea), where 14,000 people came to hear him speak.
Michael Sandel’s TED Talks
More news and ideas from Michael Sandel
In Brief
One TED speaker adorns the walls of the New York City subway, another the walls of a building in Dubai…
January 13, 2017
As usual, the TED community has lots of news to share this week. Below, some highlights. A subway line with museum-worthy art. After 45 years of construction and $4.5 billion spent, the first section of New York City’s Second Avenue subway line opened on January 1 with four stations. Maybe the best feature of the […]
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Michael v. Michael: A debate on how (or if) business can solve social problems
October 6, 2013
Their names may both be Michael. They may even both be professors at Harvard. But Michael Porter and Michael Sandel offer up radically different ideas on business and its potential for good in their TED Talks, both released today. While Porter suggests that businesses are in a great position to tackle social problems — because […]
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The real price of market values: Michael Sandel at TEDGlobal 2013
June 14, 2013
Political philosopher Michael Sandel — the second “Michael from Harvard” this session — returns to TED in the last session of TEDGlobal, “All Together Now,” to address the marketization of our culture. These days there’s very little money can’t buy. If you ever wind up in jail in San Diego, CA, and you find your […]
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