ABSTRACT

Margaret Radin106 situates her critique of prostitution within a broader critique of the commodification of things/services which, she argues, are diminished in value if exchanged for money. She argues that acceptance of prostitution as a normal and unproblematic practice would distort and damage the social meaning of the equivalent non-commodified activity (freely chosen sexual relations with a desired partner). In her argument, it is not so much the commodification of personal relationships which is itself harmful, but the way they reduce the value and meaning of non-commodified relationships. Similarly, Elizabeth Anderson has argued that the existence and toleration of prostitution makes it harder for people (whether directly involved in prostitution or not) to form genuinely intimate and committed relationships.107