Markets and Merit

In this episode, we travel back to 1947 with Simone de Beauvoir as she travels to the United States in America Day by Day. Through her sharp observations, she critiques different aspects of society, raising questions that remain strikingly relevant today. From the narrow specialization of universities to the transformation of jazz into a commercial product, de Beauvoir's reflections challenge us to reconsider our relationship with work, freedom, and cultural expression.

In this episode, we delve into Michael Sandel's The Tyranny of Merit, examining the relationship between markets and merit. We look at the author's critical perspective on meritocracy, challenging its promises, and examining its broader impact on society.

In this episode, we explore Jack London’s Martin Eden, the story of a sailor striving to become a writer while grappling with love, ambition, and social inequality. Through Martin’s journey, we’ll reflect on the meaning of personal success and the impact of societal pressures on our lives today. Can we identify aspects of commodification?

In this episode, we explore Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation, an important critique of liberal market economies and their impact on society. Economic life was historically embedded within social structures, but the rise of market economies has reversed this relationship, turning human labor and nature into commodities.

In this introductory episode, I share the idea behind the podcast Decommodify. This podcast is about questioning the status quo, and we'll do this with the help of remarkable books and their authors—from Jack London to Simone de Beauvoir. This episode introduces some key definitions, offering the tools to understand what decommodification means.