Sandel is the author of several publications, including ''Democracy's Discontent
and Public Philosophy
. In the former, Sandel writes that the discontent takes "the form of inchoate anxieties—a growing sense that we were losing control of the forces that govern our lives, and that the moral fabric of community was unraveling. As the global economy mattered more, the nation-state, traditionally the site of self-government, mattered less. The scale of economic life was exceeding the reach of democratic control". Public Philosophy'' is a collection of his previously published essays examining the role of morality and justice in American political life. In it, he offers a commentary on the roles of moral values and civic community in the American electoral process—a much-debated aspect of the 2004 U.S. election cycle and of current political discussion. Sandel gave the 2009
Reith Lectures on "A New Citizenship" on BBC Radio, addressing the "prospect for a new politics of the common good". The lectures were delivered in London on May 18, Oxford on May 21, Newcastle upon Tyne on May 26, and Washington, D.C. in early June, 2009. He is the author of the book, ''What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets'' (2012), which argues that some desirable things—such as body organs and the right to kill endangered species—should not be traded for cash. In the book, Sandel argues that stimulating a market-oriented approach in people may lead to relaxation or even corruption of their moral values. In his 2020 book,
The Tyranny of Merit, Sandel makes a case for overhauling western neo-liberalism, citing
Michael Young's work as a precedent (Young popularized the term "
meritocracy"), and developing a line of thought shared with
Daniel Markovits in
The Meritocracy Trap. According to Sandel, elite institutions including the Ivy League and Wall Street have corrupted our virtue and our sense of who deserves power. Ongoing stalled social mobility and increasing inequality are laying bare the crass delusion of the
American Dream, and the promise "you can make it if you want and try". The latter, according to Sandel, is the main culprit of the anger and frustration that brought some Western countries toward
populism. Among various reviews of the 2020 book, the
Evening Standard headline was "
Diagnosis but no cure for the ills of an unfair society", in
Kirkus Reviews "
Sandel’s proposals for change are less convincing than his deeply considered analysis."; in the British Education Studies Association, "
We must abandon the elitism of the university degree... Of course, higher education is a good thing, even ‘a common good’. But the university should return to its role of defining and creating knowledge, not credits." In the
Harvard Magazine review, "
But even if equality of opportunity were attainable, which Sandel doubts, he thinks meritocracy would be neither desirable nor sustainable: even a perfect meritocracy has multiple flaws that make it unjust.";
The Wall Street Journal headlines: "
Review: The Cream Also Rises: The meritocratic ideal makes elites arrogant and threatens communal solidarity. Identity-based policies make the problem worse." In 2009, Sandel criticized economist
Gary Becker, winner of the
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in honor of Alfred Nobel for his market immigration proposal. == Personal life ==