Markets & Morality is a student discussion group at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. We reached out to them for a short interview about their organization’s mission and work. The following answers are courtesy of program assistant Noel Vanderbilt, class of ’25.

1. What is the core mission of Markets & Morality? What is the impact you want the organization to have on its members and the wider community, both in the short- and long-term? 

The stated mission of Markets and Morality is to “support students as they examine the interplay of market forces through the lens of moral thought, including the precepts of the historic Christian faith, and to facilitate a rigorous conversation about whether markets can contribute to human flourishing.” M&M is an interdisciplinary group of intellectually-curious students committed to discussing the ideas surrounding human flourishing through the lens of moral thought and the historic Christian faith. In M&M, we have the opportunity to engage in thoughtful conversations through reading books, attending conferences, and hosting speakers and events. M&M seeks to shape members into life-long learners and readers equipped to think critically, thoughtfully, honestly, prudently, charitably, and freely about the ideas they encounter. 

We make our home on Hope College’s campus, nestled near the vibrant shores of Lake Michigan and adjacent to the cobblestoned streets of downtown Holland, Michigan. While peer-to-peer student discussion is central to our mission, we also seek to open the conversation to the larger Holland community. Throughout the year, we host several public events and lectures, encouraging community-wide discussion of big ideas. Often, we co-sponsor events with other on-campus organizations who are committed to contributing to thoughtful, intellectual dialogue. 

2. What does the process of facilitating complex discussions look like? How do you ensure conversations remain charitable and productive?

M&M started as a handful of students meeting in a professor’s living room to discuss a selected text, fueled by their desire for a classical learning environment where study went deeper than what they encountered in the classroom. This humble origin story remains at the heart of what we do each week. Robust reading meetings and thoughtful discussions rely on each member’s full investment. Unlike other groups, M&M does not have a hierarchy of student leadership, so initiative and participation from all members is essential. An M&M alumni describes it this way, “M&M is students choosing to set aside time before each meeting to prepare adequately, time during each meeting to show up and be active participants, and time after each meeting to reflect and allow for the growth that is being facilitated here to take root and manifest itself in how they think about and interact with the world around them going forward.” 

In addition to the need for full student participation, charitably and productively engaging in discussions requires member preparation. Members must have a solid understanding of the text through careful reading and analysis prior to discussion. Thus, reading meetings always start with questions that drive at the author’s argument. What did they intend to communicate? What are different, but plausible, interpretations of the author’s argument? Often, identifying and articulating the argument prompts further conversation and debate among members as we try to trace the argument’s reasoning. Responsibly handling the text by first reading for the argument encourages a shared baseline of understanding. From here, the discussion shifts to answer questions that members have submitted in advance. Some questions steer the conversation toward contemporary applications or historical analysis while others prompt deeper, more theoretical grappling with ideas and their consequences.

3. Could you share a story of a particularly memorable discussion that was sparked at an M&M meeting? What was the topic and why did it leave such a strong impression?

It’s difficult to pinpoint just one memorable discussion, especially when the topics that M&M discusses range from economics to political science to philosophy to theology to literature and the mediums that prompt our exploration include books, articles, and the occasional podcast, film, or poem. However, the first book that M&M reads together every year is Money, Greed, and God: The Christian Case for Free Enterprise. I’ve always enjoyed how new members, myself included, often marvel and prickle at the arguments Jay Richards presents in the text as he defends capitalism against common critiques, suggests it is not incompatible with Christianity, and instead argues that it offers the best economic system for promoting human flourishing. These discussions are memorable because students quickly become comfortable reading for the argument, exchanging ideas back and forth, and questioning assumptions they have held to be true. Returning members consider the ways in which additional life experiences inform how they now understand Richard’s arguments. New members offer a question similar to something a former member emphasized a year earlier. Revisiting the same text with a new group can lead the conversation in a completely new direction. For me, these discussions provide an example of how learning in community ought to happen. 

4. M&M’s discussions aren’t just abstract and academic, but relate to real-world issues, like social justice and policy. How does participating in M&M change the way members approach life beyond the classroom and in their careers? 

As a recent Hope College graduate and M&M alumni, I can only speak from my experience about how M&M has changed the way I approach life and career. M&M has strengthened invaluable soft skills like professionalism, etiquette, public speaking, time-management, preparedness, communication, reliability, humility, initiative, and gratitude that have already served me well in a variety of work experiences. Furthermore, participating in M&M has equipped me to be a life-long learner by providing a space for intellectual curiosity to flourish. At first, I was intimidated to join M&M because I wasn’t an economics major and had very little in the way of economic literacy. M&M helped me to understand that learning was not just about possessing a specific box of knowledge, but having the skillset to ask thoughtful questions, the courage to wrestle with difficult ideas, and the humility to listen deliberately. As Professor Estelle reminds us, M&M is less about giving answers and more about learning to ask the right questions as we pursue truth. M&M invites students to participate in a particular way of life, a way of life rooted in a love of learning in community that I hope will extend far-beyond my years at Hope College. 

5. Beyond the immediate semester, what are some of the most exciting events or programmatic themes M&M is planning for the future?

Our theme for 2025-2026 is “The Intellectual Life in Community.” Our regular reading meetings will explore this topic through a variety of texts including “The Hidden Pleasures of the Intellectual Life,” and work from Hayek and Plato. This semester M&M is also excited to attend the Acton Dinner for a lecture from Ross Douthat on his book “Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious,” host a film screening of Motherland with director Evan Matthews, and welcome economist Dr. David Philips, who will give a lecture entitled “Ending Homelessness: What Really Works?” In the spring, we will be hosting an additional two lectures, a film-screening, and a mini-conference while planning for our upcoming May trip to the United Kingdom where we will wrestle with the ideas and explore the minds that powered the cultural and intellectual transformation of the Enlightenment.

6. For those who would like to contribute to discussions like those of M&M on ethics, Christianity, and economics, but feel themselves lacking in expertise, how can they get involved?

If you’re interested in staying up to date on the latest happenings in M&M, feel free to follow us on Instagram or Facebook (@marketsandmorality). If you’d like to have a peek into what the conversation looks like, many of our lectures and public events are also available to be streamed on the Hope College Youtube Channel under the Markets and Morality playlist.

Thanks for reading, and make sure to keep up with Markets & Morality’s upcoming work! God bless.