Meritocracy, in Sandel’s view, is not merely unfair in the philosophical sense sketched above but actively corrosive of democratic life. Sandel believes they have underestimated the extent of the problem. Liberal thinkers as different as Rawls and Friedrich Hayek have acknowledged it, but they have nonetheless argued that freedom and fairness demand some degree of meritocratic selection and reward. Sandel is not the first to make this point. If these traits and capabilities are not the results of our actions or decisions, Sandel argues, then we don’t deserve to be rewarded for possessing them. We’re lucky to be born smart, lucky to get a good education, and even lucky to develop the character to work hard.
But he argues that even the aspects of merit that seem to be under our control, such as hard work and intelligence, depend to a large degree on good fortune. Merit, Sandel notes, seems to be the fairest way of distributing success. This leads to “hubris among the successful, and resentment among the disadvantaged,” something that Sandel believes helps explain the resurgence of populist nationalism, including the election of President Trump. FSG, 288 pp., $28.00.Īccording to Sandel, members of liberal societies will tend to hold meritocratic attitudes that moralize success as a deserved reward for talent and hard work. The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? by Michael Sandel.
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