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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book. It really spells out major issues that have separated Americans and differences made clearer via politics in recent years. I thought the author did a great job of examining how religion is often tied to merit - that those who are successful are blessed and those who are suffering are sinners and are deserving of their circumstances. There's also this pronounced belief that those who are victims of circumstances are more worthy of help than those who have made poor decisions (unless you're a bank and it's 2008). It's also this holier than thou dichotomy of successful people who think they are smarter or worked harder for their success than those who are struggling, but the reality is that they almost never achieved this success on their own - society paved the way for their success. And yet their merit and value is not based on how much they give back to the society that supported them. A major point made by the author is that some people only make more money because society has put more vale on their work, not because they're smarter or inherently better or more important. A person's market value doesn't equate to an individual's contributions to society, but people often mistake this as a proxy. The author also dives into higher ed and how it does little to increase upward mobility. Sandel made valuable points as well about the grievances that conservatives feel, which led to Trump's success in 2016. This injury is about the loss of recognition and esteem. Instead of blaming larger political and financial forces at work, blame is then shifted to the educated, people of color, women, and immigrants for taking their roles. In sum, our system needs to be completed reformed because it's just going to create more discontent, economic divides, and injustice.
Michael Sandel's thoughtful, philosophical work covers some of the same territory of Fredrik deBoer's "Cult of Smart" which I read earlier this year. But where deBoer focuses primarily on education, Sandel covers a much broader political scope and uses philosophical tools which are even more compelling. Sandel goes after the language and culture of meritocracy that has infused American polictical and civic discourse (reminding us all that the term "meritocracy" was coined as both satire and a warning) arguing that it is a failed venture that demeans those who cannot, for whatever reason, succeed within its structure and that this discourse is a major contributor to the unrest that led to the election of Donald Trump. Sandel is cogent, clear, and fair-minded. If his jabs strike more often at the left it is because, from his perspective, the left have failed more deeply in their embrace of meritocratic language that originated with the right. His final call is more philosophical than practical -- calling for a shift in civic discourse. However, there are some good practical thoughts on reforming education (although significantly less robust than deBoer's agenda) and a single simple if cutting suggesting for tweaking the tax code to value work over rent-seeking financial transactions. A thoughtful and worthwhile read with a significant number of moments where I found myself saying, "I've thought that but never pushed that thought all the way in that direction" that were eye-opening.
This is an accessible primer on distributive justice, personal agency, and moral desert, applied to help us understand America's purported meritocracy and its many injustices. Sandel argues that today's populist backlash (e.g., Trump, Brexit, anti-elitism) comes from being shut out of the benefits of globalization and the "tyranny of merit", an oppressive system that valorizes a fundamentally arbitrary definition of merit and places a high degree of moral value on success (and thus a damning judgment on those who don't succeed, even if by random chance).
Sandel does a nice job of summarizing a lot of dense philosophical thought in a more popularly accessible way, but I wanted him to go in a bit deeper in his analysis. A lot of his takes on the socio-economic ills of America weren't particularly novel (things you could read in a number of think pieces in popular news outlets). I appreciate that he tried to propose some alternatives at the end of his book but most of his solutions were still incrementally education or market based (e.g., civic education, taxing the surplus of winners), which doesn't reflect a real structural change from the current system he criticizes. But I'm already a convert to this thinking so he doesn't need to convince me. No one "deserves" anything, externally validated success is not a moral virtue, most things are random chance, life is meaningless lol.
Sandel does a nice job of summarizing a lot of dense philosophical thought in a more popularly accessible way, but I wanted him to go in a bit deeper in his analysis. A lot of his takes on the socio-economic ills of America weren't particularly novel (things you could read in a number of think pieces in popular news outlets). I appreciate that he tried to propose some alternatives at the end of his book but most of his solutions were still incrementally education or market based (e.g., civic education, taxing the surplus of winners), which doesn't reflect a real structural change from the current system he criticizes. But I'm already a convert to this thinking so he doesn't need to convince me. No one "deserves" anything, externally validated success is not a moral virtue, most things are random chance, life is meaningless lol.
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Not one for reading books like this for pleasure but this was written in a really nice digestible and entertaining manner!!
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
medium-paced
The book brought up some good points and was definitely thought provoking at times, but ultimately seemed to be a bit muddled. A lot of key terms (like "Elite" and "Merit") were never clearly defined, and seemed to be elastic enough way to cover basically whatever author didn't like. In a few areas the author seemed overly partisan and somewhat uninformed (dismissing futures and CDSs as merely speculative comes to mind - I'm sure a case can be made against both, but to completely overlook their role in risk management, which is very useful to the "real economy" seems at best uniformed and at worst dishonest).
Some things like the college admission scandal and ivy leaguers unnecessarily competing for prestige seem to be highly significant to the author, but it's less clear to me that this is representative of American culture in general. A lot of his argument seemed to be extrapolated from anecdotes, with data sprinkled in as window dressing.
When reading these types of books I always think about that old Isaiah Berlin quote about how the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. Hedgehog books are great at a scratching a mental itch to make it seem like you've gotten to the root of things, but sweep a lot of pesky nuance under the rug. Fox books are better at analyzing the world as it actually is, though usually come to less tidy conclusions. This was definitely a hedgehog book.
Some things like the college admission scandal and ivy leaguers unnecessarily competing for prestige seem to be highly significant to the author, but it's less clear to me that this is representative of American culture in general. A lot of his argument seemed to be extrapolated from anecdotes, with data sprinkled in as window dressing.
When reading these types of books I always think about that old Isaiah Berlin quote about how the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. Hedgehog books are great at a scratching a mental itch to make it seem like you've gotten to the root of things, but sweep a lot of pesky nuance under the rug. Fox books are better at analyzing the world as it actually is, though usually come to less tidy conclusions. This was definitely a hedgehog book.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced