GoodWork Paper 32: The Compromised Commons: Encroaching Market Forces and the Effects on Good Work

Author(s): Henry Rubin

Editor(s): Jeff Solomon, Series Editor

Media: Paper

Description: In GoodWork: When Excellence and Ethics Meet (2001), Gardner et al. show that professionals trying to do good work face increasing pressures from market forces. Building on this insight, I specify the types of market forces having an impact on the domains of medicine and journalism. Seven market forces are explored in interviews with 100 professionals: 1) advertising; 2) commodification of professional missions; 3) inflationary costs; 4) bureaucratization; 5) profiteering; 6) rationing of limited resources; and 7) reorganization of ownership structures. Other, more systemic market forces are notably absent from the interviews. This absence suggests that it is difficult for embedded individuals to recognize and address the encroachment of the market on their professional lives. Evidence suggests that professionals who have multiple roles over the course of their careers may have better insights on the effects of a wider range of market forces.