Name: Pedro Pinheiro 's review of The Tyranny of Merit by Michael Sandel
Item: The Tyranny of Merit
Rating: 3
Author: Pedro Pinheiro

Michael Sandel

A TLS, GUARDIAN AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR The new bestseller from the acclaimed author of Justice and one of the world's most popular philosophers 'Will help us to heal our divided societies' Sunday Times These are dangerous times for democracy. We live in an age of winners and losers, where the odds are stacked in favour of the already fortunate. Stalled social mobility and entrenched inequality give the lie to the promise that "you can make it if you try". And the consequence is a brew of anger and frustration that has fuelled populist protest, with the triumph of Brexit and election of Donald Trump. Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the polarized politics of our time, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalisation and rising inequality. Sandel highlights the hubris a meritocracy generates among the winners and the harsh judgement it imposes on those left behind. He offers an alternative way of thinking about success - more attentive to the role of luck in human affairs, more conducive to an ethic of humility, and more hospitable to a politics of the common good.

What’s Become of the Common Good?

The Tyranny of Merit

Pedro Pinheiro 

These are dangerous times for democracy. We live in an age of winners and losers, where the odds are stacked in favour of the already fortunate. Stalled social mobility and entrenched inequality give the lie to the promise that "you can make it if you try". And the consequence is a brew of anger and frustration that has fuelled populist protest, with the triumph of Brexit and election of Donald Trump. Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the polarized politics of our time, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalisation and rising inequality. Sandel highlights the hubris a meritocracy generates among the winners and the harsh judgement it imposes on those left behind. He offers an alternative way of thinking about success - more attentive to the role of luck in human affairs, more conducive to an ethic of humility, and more hospitable to a politics of the common good.

What's Become of the Common Good?

the history of meritocracy slowed the pace down, but I'm so happy I stuck this one through. over the months I've referenced this book countless times. it's one of those books that describes a perspective (meritocracy) of viewing society so robustly that you're able to see shades of it outside of the book. makes me wonder if the tyranny of American meritocracy is really ever reversible or amendable or alleviated. 

Xin Ma

Faith Ho 

10/10 do not regret coming back to finish this book after my month hiatus (oops). Some parts are a bit more theoretical and harder to parse through, but I found the arguments highly compelling and the central ideas & reasonings very engaging (the solutions I'm not so sure about, but I don't think the focus is there so I'll let it go). I particularly enjoyed the last two chapters on education (literally my life) and work. Also, very humbling (at the end, perhaps even inspiring) - and it really related and brought to greater clarity ideas I've been mulling over for quite a while. 

The following bit contains key/salient points that stood out to me, written for my own reference - thus not particularly coherent and contains "spoilers" (but also this is non-fic so does that even apply?? Does it ruin the suspense of finding out the reasons behind the rise of populism?) - but this is also a book that I feel can't really be as effective if summarised (and thus why it's good). 

Key points by chapter: 
1. History of Merit: rise of the "Protestant Ethic" (salvation through works), "America is great because America is good"
2. Rhetoric of Rising: rise of hubristic attitudes among those who "succeed" and punitive low esteem among those who "failed", welfare state assessing rather than cushioning responsibility 
3. Credentialism: rhetoric of education (equality of opportunity), erosion of the dignity of those without college degrees, technocratic talk of "smart" vs "dumb" policies as a means to overcome partisan ideology but which also alienate those without college degrees and fail to engage with moral issues 
4. Success Ethics (most theoretical chapter): 
- Meritocracy aligns inequality with ability and presumes people get what they deserve through their own "merit". 
- A fundamental question: What if it's not just how meritocracy is a "myth" and we are too far from it cos unequal opportunity; but that meritocracy as an idea itself is fundamentally flawed as a political and moral project? 
- Outcome of meritocracy is necessarily inequality; however, moral status of talents are questioned (Do we deserve them? Do we deserve the fact that society prizes them?) and it rewards effort, but does effort necessarily get us anything? 
- Discussion of the ideas & limitations of 1) free market liberalisation - we should let rewards fall as they are, acknowledging it as just a measure of how society prices goods using demand and supply (Hayek) and 2) welfare state liberalisation - factors and talents and even effort are arbitrary so necessary for the "successes" to give back (Rawls) 
- Economic value =/= moral value (however, in pluralistic society hard to quantify what then has moral value) 
- Limitations of 1) distinction between value and merit unhelpful, 2) shift to personal morality may not help 
- Welfare state egalitarianism - luck egalitarian policy - then policy shifts towards "are you unfortunate because you're unlucky or because you made bad choices" — 1) severity towards imprudent and 2) casting those who qualify as helpless victims
5. The Sorting Machine: higher education does not help social mobility, creates extreme pressure for those at the top of meritocracy while fuelling continued hubris; higher education should not be the only means of civic and moral education 
6. Recognising Work: work as not just economic but social esteem (ability to contribute to common good, value, esteem etc), recognising people not just as consumers but producers (the end of work should not just be for consumerism), starting with affirming the dignity of work (market outcomes don't necessarily correlate with the value of the outcome to the common good, e.g. hedge fund managers v school teachers) 

"It is often assumed that the only alternative to equality of opportunity is a stetile, oppressive equality of results. But there is another alternative: a broad equality of condition that enables those that do not achieve great wealth or prestigious positions to live lives of decency and dignity [...] we are not self-made and self-sufficient; finding ourselves in a society that prizes our talents is our good fortune, not our due."

Nelson Zagalo

Although repetitive, "The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good?" (2020) by Michael Sandel was the most transformative book I have read in recent years, as it touches on fundamental current issues that explain the intricate human relations of our society at the beginning of this century. The principal point of this book is revealed as: The dignity of our work is not measured by the salary we receive. 

A análise completa, extensa, encontra-se no meu blog em Português:
https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...

Meritocracy has to be tackled if we are to have any meaningful political discussion about solving the problems of modern societies. This book offers good and at times quite poignant or even ironic angles. It is of special interest the history of how the political "left" evolved with relation to merit as the criteria for justice. The problem of the book is that Sandel wants to address the fact that some people are actually living, today, with the dystopian consequences of the tyranny of merit, and by doing so spends far too long explaining the failures of the USA educational-economic system, something that is quite obvious for anyone not living immersed in its enforced delusion of grandeur.

Apart from this, I would consider this discussion, and parts of this book in particular, to be mandatory reading for anyone wanting to talk about education, welfare state and the future of democratic societies. Ideas of morality, equality, fairness, dignity, our very concept of an integrated and interdependent humanity, all are manipulated by this issue. If we are to envision a future, we need to stop being enslaved to such a tyrant.

André Nóbrega

Meritocracy has to be tackled if we are to have any meaningful political discussion about solving the problems of modern societies. This book offers good and at times quite poignant or even ironic angles. It is of special interest the history of how the political "left" evolved with relation to merit as the criteria for justice. The problem of the book is that Sandel wants to address the fact that some people are actually living, today, with the dystopian consequences of the tyranny of merit, and by doing so spends far too long explaining the failures of the USA educational-economic system, something that is quite obvious for anyone not living immersed in its enforced delusion of grandeur.

Apart from this, I would consider this discussion, and parts of this book in particular, to be mandatory reading for anyone wanting to talk about education, welfare state and the future of democratic societies. Ideas of morality, equality, fairness, dignity, our very concept of an integrated and interdependent humanity, all are manipulated by this issue. If we are to envision a future, we need to stop being enslaved to such a tyrant.

emily allen

While Sandel presents a pressing and little-discussed aspect of the American dream, he does so in as many words as possible. This book is fascinating and important, but it could have been condensed into a much briefer essay.

Pedro Pinheiro &
The Tyranny of Merit by Michael Sandel

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