Stephen D’Angelo | Cornell Chronicle | November 12, 2021
According to a new study from Cornell and Virginia Tech, the political left and right both consider bodily markets morally wrong, but for different reasons. Services and products in these markets include sex work, commercial surrogacy, and trade of kidneys, plasma, and reproductive cells. Through five studies, the researchers found that liberals believe commercializing human bodies can harm vulnerable communities and exacerbate social inequalities, while conservatives believe commercialization corrupts the sanctity of the human body and reduces it to a commodity. Understanding the differences can help lawmakers design policies on bodily markets that their constituents might support.