Markets & Morality

Markets & Morality is an intellectually curious and close-knit community of students at Hope College that engages in deep and continuing discussion of serious issues and works to open that conversation to the larger campus community. In practical terms, M&M — as it’s affectionately referred to by its membership — is:

A Reading Group

The reading discussion group meets about twice each month at Professor Sarah Estelle’s home near Hope’s campus to discuss shared readings on topics bridging economics, theology, poverty, productivity, faith and public policy.

 Some Books previously read by M&M:

• Money, Greed, and God by Jay W. Richards
• Environmental Stewardship in the Judeo-Christian Tradition based on the Cornwall Declaration
• The Poverty of Nations by Asmus and Grudem
• A Conflict of Visions by Sowell
• Classical Liberalism by Mises
• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn
• Spirit of Democratic Capitalism by Novak

 

A Visiting Lecture Series

Each school year M&M hosts a variety of speakers from around the country, each of whom offers a public lecture to the entire campus preceded by a private dinner that allows M&M members an opportunity for more casual conversation with the speaker.

Selected previous on-campus lectures hosted by M&M:

• Peter Greer, CEO, Hope International
• Catherine Pakaluk, economist, Catholic University of America
• Daniel Jean Louis, Haitian entrepreneur
• Ross Emmett, economist, Michigan State University
• Jonathan Adler, J.D., Case Western Law School
• James Otteson, philosopher, Wake Forest University
• Jonathan Pidluzny, political science, Morehead State University
• Michael Matheson Miller, Acton Institute and Poverty Cure

A Film Series

Approximately three times per year, M&M feeds – with food and thought-provoking films – interested students, faculty and Holland community members.

Some of M&M's previous film screenings:

• The Killing Fields, a critically-acclaimed Hollywood production based on a true story set in communist Cambodia
• Poverty, Inc., a documentary on effective international poverty alleviation
• For the Life of the World, a dramatic video series which asks "What is your salvation for?"
• Good Bye, Lenin, a foreign film and fictional tale of East Germany at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall
• 2081, a dystopian short based on Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron"
• Liberating a Continent: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism, a documentary exploring the role of Pope John Paul II in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe

An Opportunity to Travel Regionally and Nationally

M&M enjoys seeking Truth and sometimes that process requires traveling to those who ask important questions and offer intriguing answers.

Some of M&M's favorite trips:

• Acton Institute Black-Tie Dinner Lectures, Grand Rapids, annually in October
• Values and Capitalism Summer Conferences, Washington, D.C., annually in June
• M&M Spring Break, Washington, D.C. (2016), Bozeman, Montana (2017), Philadelphia (2018)
• Philadelphia Society Semiannual Conference, Grand Rapids (2014)
• Mackinac Policy Center Anniversary Dinner, Lansing (2013)

Markets & Morality Spring Break Trip 2016: Visit to Monticello

A Chance to Get Involved... So Get Involved!

Do you love to learn?  Do you want to engage in an ongoing discussion of big ideas with similarly curious and thoughtful friends?

Applications for membership are typically available the first week of each school year and during a special "early decision" round in April of each year.  All students are encouraged to apply.  Those selected for membership commit to a year of involvement in twice-monthly reading discussions and other events.  In most cases, event fees and transportation are provided at no charge to members.  Books are provided to students on Kindle e-readers, which members may keep at the end of the year.

Throughout the year, we welcome other interested students to become “Friends of M&M.”  Friends receive personalized updates on upcoming events and are included in many of the larger events M&M attends on and off campus.

If you’d like to get involved as a member or a “friend," contact Dr. Sarah Estelle at estelle@hope.edu.

Also, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Mission

Markets & Morality supports students as they examine the interplay of market forces through the lens of moral thought, including the precepts of the historic Christian faith, and facilitates a rigorous conversation about whether markets can contribute to human flourishing.