Why this book?
- It offers a philosophical critique of the meritocratic ideal, one that few dare to question.
- It shows why even a perfect meritocracy is morally and politically doubtful.
- It explains populist anger against elites through the hubris of winners and the humiliation of losers.
- From education and credentialism to the dignity of work, it examines issues readers face every day.
- It brings the notion of the "common good" back into political and moral debate.
About the book
Michael Sandel, a political philosopher and professor at Harvard University, takes up in The Tyranny of Merit one of the most widely accepted principles of Western liberal democracies, and of America in particular: the principle of merit, the belief that in a good society each person rises to the position and rewards that their talent and hard work deserve. The book was published in 2020 and continues Sandel's long-standing concerns with justice and the common good.
The central argument is that the problem with meritocracy is not merely that it falls short of its ideal in practice. If that were the problem, the remedy would be to provide equal opportunity. Sandel asks whether even a perfect meritocracy is desirable, morally and politically. How far are our talents really up to us, and why should someone whose talents the market society happens to prize deserve far greater rewards? He also shows that this system fosters hubris among the winners and humiliation and resentment among the losers, and he reads the populist revolt against elites less as a protest against immigration and outsourcing than as a revolt against the tyranny of merit.