U. lecture to question whether 'Casino Capitalism' is moral

Best-selling author and Harvard professor Michael Sandel asks whether capitalism has lost its way and how it might find its moral bearings.

Sandel is exploring those questions in a lecture, "Casino Capitalism: Gambling, Investing, and the Ethics of Speculation," which he will deliver in Salt Lake City.

Sandel will present the 2013 Tanner Lecture on Human Values at 7 p.m., Feb. 27 at Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah, 1395 E. Presidents Circle. The event, sponsored by the Tanner Humanities Center, is free and open to the public. For information on tickets, visit http://thc.utah.edu or call 801-581-7989.

Bob Goldberg, director of the Tanner Humanities Center, said Sandel is "a principal observer of the relationship between economics and morality in modern American society. His work addresses many of the pressing ethical concerns raised by the current financial situation."

Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard. He is the author of multiple publications, including "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" and recently, "What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets."

Sandel writes that although risk is part of life, financial speculation is playing a growing role in the economy, and he asks what that means for us. He questions the ethics of traders who grow no crops, but simply bet on the future price of wheat, or of hedge funds that own no Greek bonds, but bet on the likelihood that Greece will go bankrupt. —

For more information

Contact the Tanner Humanities Center at 801-581-7989 or jelstein@hum.utah.edu