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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
I don’t think it’s perfect by any means, but I feel like everybody should read this and form an opinion on the topic.
"For all our striving, we are not self-made and self-sufficient; finding ourselves in a society that prizes our talents is our good fortune, not our due."
This work by Michael Sandel is an outstanding deconstruction of the meritocratic ideal that prevails in most developed Western societies. It provided food for thought and raised many valid points on how this way of measuring worth is dangerous not only for society as a whole but for everyone.
This work by Michael Sandel is an outstanding deconstruction of the meritocratic ideal that prevails in most developed Western societies. It provided food for thought and raised many valid points on how this way of measuring worth is dangerous not only for society as a whole but for everyone.
informative
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This is a must read for anyone wanting to understand why the rise of populisme. It’s the story of the winners (higher education) vs the losers (no higher education). It is also about the loss of dignity of work.
It debunks everything you thought was right about meritocracy.
It debunks everything you thought was right about meritocracy.
There is a lot of insight to be found here, and I am glad I read it. I do, however, think the author is off about at least a few things, and it complicates my feelings about the read. For context and disclosure, I am not liberal. I’m pretty firmly left. I want a society that supports all of its citizens in equal measure, even the people I disagree with or would outright despise if encountered on the street, and that’s the America I was told to believe in growing up.
He downplays the role that racism played in Trump’s rise to power, making everything about class and resentment towards educated elites the primary drivers. I do believe those are worthy factors that contributed to the issues we currently face, but I find it a little unnerving how much he seems to empathize with blue collar, white workers as a group specifically, to the exclusion of, say, people with disabilities, which I don’t really recall being mentioned at all here. Or sex workers, who have always had to deal with mistreatment and prejudice that their job isn’t a real job worthy of existing in the light of day, let alone being paid well, but I guarantee you most sex workers didn’t take their frustration out on themselves and others by voting in a racist, sexist, con artist demagogue to cater to their specific whims and no one else’s.
There also isn’t really as much going into the age of a lot of Trump’s supporters, and how that might relate to their attitudes and situation (Boomers everywhere love to talk about what people “deserve,” usually aimed at younger people but not exclusively. There’s a lot of racism baked in there too). Or the people of higher educations who boosted Trump up as a man for the common man, using their platforms to not only support him personally, but also hold a megaphone up to his major talking points. Or the rising demonization of college, as merely a place for “liberal brainwashing,” while simultaneously proudly proclaiming these people have “facts and logic” on their side, suggesting that some education is good, actually.
He mentions populism a few times, but not really the growing push of American exceptionalism arguments, not just clinging to our supposed “functioning meritocracy” that we don’t have, but also trying to deny we as a nation have ever done anything that bad that we should feel ashamed of, and anything bad we DID do (slavery is the most common example I hear) is (ironically) not exceptional to us, because it was “just a thing back then, all over the world.”
And then there are the decently well-off (not threatened constantly with eviction, foreclosure, starvation and homelessness) Republicans and Trump supporting citizens (not politicians), whose “screw you, got mine” attitude seems to get louder and prouder every year that Trump was in office.
There’s some stuff in there that implies or hints at some of these concepts, but doesn’t give them really any room to be discussed in more depth. Others don’t get mentioned whatsoever. Which, to be fair, his book is about meritocracy, not those things. So I get it.
Still a very good book, if a bit needlessly long, repetitive, and dry at times. I rank it highly despite that. Very good points that it’s worthy to consider, and I don’t think he’s necessarily saying those are the ONLY ones that majorly contributed. Just wish there had been more acknowledgment of these other contributing factors, even as just a short aside somewhere. To quote The Tyranny of Race Blindeness Khiara M. Bridges’ thoughts on the book:
“Sandel writes that it is “galling” to attribute white privilege to the white working class—folks who are struggling “to win honor and recognition in a meritocratic order that has scant regard for the skills they have to offer.”16 More galling, however, is the staunch refusal to recognize that white privilege has made the white working class feel entitled to regard for the skills that they have to offer. Indeed, the white working class’s white privilege is vividly demonstrated by the very existence of The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?—a love letter of sorts to the people who empowered and supported a man who tested this country’s democracy in ways that would have kept the Framers up at night.”
He downplays the role that racism played in Trump’s rise to power, making everything about class and resentment towards educated elites the primary drivers. I do believe those are worthy factors that contributed to the issues we currently face, but I find it a little unnerving how much he seems to empathize with blue collar, white workers as a group specifically, to the exclusion of, say, people with disabilities, which I don’t really recall being mentioned at all here. Or sex workers, who have always had to deal with mistreatment and prejudice that their job isn’t a real job worthy of existing in the light of day, let alone being paid well, but I guarantee you most sex workers didn’t take their frustration out on themselves and others by voting in a racist, sexist, con artist demagogue to cater to their specific whims and no one else’s.
There also isn’t really as much going into the age of a lot of Trump’s supporters, and how that might relate to their attitudes and situation (Boomers everywhere love to talk about what people “deserve,” usually aimed at younger people but not exclusively. There’s a lot of racism baked in there too). Or the people of higher educations who boosted Trump up as a man for the common man, using their platforms to not only support him personally, but also hold a megaphone up to his major talking points. Or the rising demonization of college, as merely a place for “liberal brainwashing,” while simultaneously proudly proclaiming these people have “facts and logic” on their side, suggesting that some education is good, actually.
He mentions populism a few times, but not really the growing push of American exceptionalism arguments, not just clinging to our supposed “functioning meritocracy” that we don’t have, but also trying to deny we as a nation have ever done anything that bad that we should feel ashamed of, and anything bad we DID do (slavery is the most common example I hear) is (ironically) not exceptional to us, because it was “just a thing back then, all over the world.”
And then there are the decently well-off (not threatened constantly with eviction, foreclosure, starvation and homelessness) Republicans and Trump supporting citizens (not politicians), whose “screw you, got mine” attitude seems to get louder and prouder every year that Trump was in office.
There’s some stuff in there that implies or hints at some of these concepts, but doesn’t give them really any room to be discussed in more depth. Others don’t get mentioned whatsoever. Which, to be fair, his book is about meritocracy, not those things. So I get it.
Still a very good book, if a bit needlessly long, repetitive, and dry at times. I rank it highly despite that. Very good points that it’s worthy to consider, and I don’t think he’s necessarily saying those are the ONLY ones that majorly contributed. Just wish there had been more acknowledgment of these other contributing factors, even as just a short aside somewhere. To quote The Tyranny of Race Blindeness Khiara M. Bridges’ thoughts on the book:
“Sandel writes that it is “galling” to attribute white privilege to the white working class—folks who are struggling “to win honor and recognition in a meritocratic order that has scant regard for the skills they have to offer.”16 More galling, however, is the staunch refusal to recognize that white privilege has made the white working class feel entitled to regard for the skills that they have to offer. Indeed, the white working class’s white privilege is vividly demonstrated by the very existence of The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?—a love letter of sorts to the people who empowered and supported a man who tested this country’s democracy in ways that would have kept the Framers up at night.”
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A truly great book. Everyone should read this.
Worth reading to have the conversation
The book is good to read with a book club...so that everyone can input their own ideas and feedback. It wa s a good book to make me think a little more about how we function as a society...and challenged me on some of the things I say and do. However, I don’t agree with several of his points and think he conflates a couple of the issues. I feel like, in principle, he’s probably coming from the same place I am, but it seems that he’s really looking to provide an answer (which, to me, seems to provide an excuse) for why people voted for Trump. The book is worth reading to get people talking. I noticed myself arguing with him a lot throughout. Perhaps that is what one considers a good read.
The book is good to read with a book club...so that everyone can input their own ideas and feedback. It wa s a good book to make me think a little more about how we function as a society...and challenged me on some of the things I say and do. However, I don’t agree with several of his points and think he conflates a couple of the issues. I feel like, in principle, he’s probably coming from the same place I am, but it seems that he’s really looking to provide an answer (which, to me, seems to provide an excuse) for why people voted for Trump. The book is worth reading to get people talking. I noticed myself arguing with him a lot throughout. Perhaps that is what one considers a good read.
informative
fast-paced