A Better World Without Marketing: Limits To The Price-Tag Society

Craig Smith, Yvetta Simonyan

Research output: Working paper / PreprintWorking paper

Abstract

Today, almost everything and anything is for sale. The ever-increasing reach of the market, facilitated by marketing, brings many benefits, but also drawbacks. It may be that a better world is only possible without marketing in some contexts, because some things people might want to buy should not be for sale (e.g., the right to shoot an endangered black rhino, space on a forehead to display commercial advertising using a permanent tattoo, drug-addicted women paid to be sterilized). We examine the philosophical critique of controversial market offers, highlighting how they might increase inequality and be corrosive of values (Sandel 2012a). In three studies, we explore lay-person judgements and find they are generally aligned with the philosophical critique and identify the underlying ethical theories that inform these judgements, as well as assumptions about effects on stakeholders other than the buyer and seller. However, we also show that these judgements change, depending upon how the offer is framed, raising the possibility that marketers and policymakers might mislead themselves and the public about the acceptability of market offers.
Original languageEnglish
PublisherSage Publications
Publication statusUnpublished - 2019

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