Watch this video →Michael Sandel: The Tyranny of Merit
Meritocracy deepens the conflict and divide between "winners" and "losers". According to Sandel, we have to rethink three aspects of our civic life: The role of college, the dignity of work and the meaning of success.
Here's some questions we'll discuss:
1. The dignity of work: "What you learn makes what you earn." "The money people make is the measure of their contribution to the common good." Do you agree or disagree?
2. The meaning of success: How is success defined in a meritocracy? Do we live in a meritocracy? What is a better system? What's the meaning of success to you?
3. What is the heart of Meritocratic Ideal?
4. What does Sandel mean by "The hubris of merit"?
5. According to Sandel, meritocracy is corrosive to the common good. What common good may it be? How have definitions of 'common good' possibly changed during the Pandemic?
6. The role of college: Nearly two-third of Americans don't have a four-year college degree. Is a four-year college degree necessary? What is the role of university? What's the problem of creating an economy that makes a university diploma a necessary condition of dignified work and a decent life?
7. Why do you think Michael Sandel calls it "the tyranny of merit"? Why 'tyranny'?
