What We Value: Public Health, Social Goods, and the American Moral Economy

What We Value examines how Americans define social worth and moral status through their views on health, well-being, and access to public resources. Michele Lamont conducted extensive interviews across the United States to understand how people from different backgrounds evaluate their own and others' contributions to society. The research spans multiple regions and demographic groups, exploring attitudes toward healthcare, education, social services, and economic opportunities. Through these conversations, Lamont documents the complex ways Americans determine who deserves support and recognition within their communities. The interviews reveal patterns in how people justify their positions on inequality, assess fairness, and relate their personal experiences to broader social structures. Lamont's analysis follows the evolution of these perspectives through recent decades of economic and political change. This sociological work contributes to ongoing debates about values, identity, and social belonging in contemporary American life. The findings highlight tensions between individualistic and collective approaches to well-being, while examining how moral judgments shape public policy preferences.

There are not enough internet reviews to create a summary of this book. Instead, here is a summary of reviews of Michele Lamont's overall work: Readers value Lamont's detailed interview-based research methods and her ability to illustrate complex sociological concepts through real people's experiences. Academic reviewers particularly note her skill in revealing how different social classes develop distinct moral values and ways of understanding worth. What readers liked: - Clear writing style that makes academic concepts accessible - Rich interview quotes that bring theories to life - Balanced comparison between French and American cultural perspectives - Careful attention to how working-class people construct dignity What readers disliked: - Some find the academic language dense and theoretical sections challenging - Repetitive points in certain chapters - Limited geographic scope in some studies Ratings across platforms: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (Money, Morals & Manners) 3.9/5 (The Dignity of Working Men) Amazon: 4.3/5 average across books One academic reviewer noted: "Lamont excels at letting her interview subjects speak for themselves while drawing meaningful sociological insights." A common criticism from general readers: "Important ideas but could be more concise."

The Dignity of Working Men by Michèle Lamont This ethnographic study examines how working-class men from different racial and ethnic backgrounds construct moral worth and self-worth in relation to work and social status.

The Worth of Goods by Jens Beckert and Patrik Aspers This collection explores how economic value intersects with social values, examining the processes through which worth is created and validated in modern markets.

Sacred Value: American Lives in an Age of Markets by Joseph E. Davis The book investigates how Americans navigate moral decisions and personal worth in a market-driven society that commodifies human experiences and relationships.

The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens by Samuel Bowles This work presents evidence from behavioral economics and social science to demonstrate how market economies both shape and depend upon moral values.

More Than Money: A Study of Moral Economies by Jane Guyer Through anthropological analysis, this book examines how different societies create systems of value that extend beyond pure economic calculation to include moral and social considerations.

📚 Michele Lamont has conducted over 300 in-depth interviews across five countries to understand how different cultures define worth and success 🎓 The book explores how Americans' definition of value has shifted from emphasizing collective well-being to prioritizing individual achievement and financial success 🌍 Lamont's research shows that European countries generally place higher value on leisure time and work-life balance compared to Americans' focus on productivity and wealth ⚕️ The decline in Americans' trust in public health institutions, as discussed in the book, can be traced back to the 1980s with the rise of market-based healthcare systems 🤝 The concept of "moral economy," central to the book's analysis, was first developed by E.P. Thompson in 1971 to describe how communities develop shared understandings of economic fairness