Michael J. Sandel¡¯s book ¡°Justice: What? the Right Thing to Do?¡± was published in Korea in May and it became a bestseller. Sandel is an American political scientist and a professor at Harvard University who has been providing lectures on the importance of social justice and moral values through various examples of ethical dilemmas people face today.

His book has become a sensation not only in the United States but also in Korea. It has sold 300,000 copies since its release in May which is a rare record in the political philosophy genre.

The topics in the book are based on his lectures at Harvard for more than 30 years and dialogue with students during his courses. He addresses questions such as ¡°Who morally deserves to be admitted to Harvard?¡± ¡°Does Michael Jordan morally deserve the wealth he has?¡± and ¡°Is it right to pay low-income kids to read?¡± Sandel discussed the moral concept of fair society and good society where goods are both properly distributed and evaluated.

¡±I have been astonished by the popularity of my book in Korea and I really appreciate Korean readers¡¯ interest in my book. I hope the book can be read by the citizens as many as possible in order to form social understanding on the issues of my book,¡± Sandel said during his recent visit in Korea.

His message of the book and the lecture is to give philosophical questions about justice and individual rights and the meaning of common good amid the era when economic affluence has crowded out vigorous social discussions on justice and moral values.

¡±My dream with the book is to contribute even in a small way in encouraging the public discussion of questions of justice and ethics. The popularity and interest in my book both in the U.S. and Korea shows that there is a great hunger in the public for serious discussion about the big ethical questions and the questions of justice,¡± he said.

He argued that people should find ways to achieve social consensus in a democratic society to cope with moral disagreements since a healthy democracy requires fervent debate about moral and spiritual questions even though it might create controversy.