Michael J. Sandel (Minneapolis, 1953) is one of those men whose attitude and manners are consistent with the principles he preaches. Up close, he has a calm voice, is extremely polite, and occasionally even shows a certain shyness. But when one listens to him in one of the numerous videos available online where he teaches or moderates a debate, often on moral issues, this American grows in stature, his voice becomes more powerful, and his nerve and energy also increase. It is evident that he greatly enjoys when he plays his role as a philosopher on the most important stage: among people.
This Political Science professor at Harvard University, where he started working in 1980 - he says he felt "very reflected in his students, given his youth - gave his lectures a sonorous and full of expectations title, simply calling it Justice, and from there, began a journey that has made him one of the most well-known intellectuals in the world, speaking before thousands of people and using technology to reach many more. His course was the first that Harvard put online for the enjoyment of all humanity. And the BBC created for him the series The Global Philosopher.
2018 Prince of Asturias Award, Sandel is a prolific writer - What Should We Do? (2011), The Tyranny of Merit (2020), Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering (2022), and The Democratic Discontent (2023), all in Debate - but now, a short book is being published in our country that is actually a conversation between Sandel and French economist Thomas Piketty, which took place in May 2024 at the Paris School of Economics. Equality, What It Is and Why It Matters (Debate) also addresses one of this philosopher's greatest concerns currently and always: the consequences of inequality in the world, the difficulties in overcoming it, and its relationship with social mobility; the ability to climb.