What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets

Priority check-in and boarding is available at airports for those who purchase business and first-class tickets. Fast-track options are offered for some coach/economy passengers through some airlines. Many believe that fast-tracking security—an issue of national and international safety concern—should not be for sale.

This is also the case in some amusement parks, which offer tickets at double the price for the chance to skip to the front of every line. There is often a separate entrance for these customers to avoid making the practice obvious to regular ticket holders.

Carpool lanes have been developed in many congested cities to urge people to ride share, thereby reducing traffic. Some cities have started selling the right for solo drivers to buy the use of the car pool lanes. Many critique this, while others suggest that it’s no different from paying more for faster postage or same-day dry cleaning.

New York puts on free Shakespeare in the Park shows, which are free, but, because of their popularity, fill up quickly, necessitating people standing in line for hours before the show begins. People began to pay people to stand in line for them, negating the concept of a free show, which was supposed to be equally accessible to all.