Cultural Goods and the Limits of the Market

Russell Keat presents a theoretical challenge to extensions of the market domain and the introduction of commercially modelled forms of organization in areas such as broadcasting, the arts and academic research. Drawing on Walzer's pluralistic conception of social goods, and MacIntyre's account of social practices, he argues that cultural activities of this kind, and the institutions within which they are conducted, can best make their distinctive contributions to human well being when protected from the damaging effects of an unbounded market.