Salon/Bohm Dialogue 11/15/20 – Meritocracy

By thomas

Published November 10, 2020.

At the core of our democracy, there is a basic inequality, not the inequality of wealth, though that is a problem, or the inequality of speech, though some think that a problem too, but the inequality of citizens. – Lawrence Lessig

meritocracy – noun
1. rule by persons chosen not because of birth or wealth, but for their superior talents or intellect
2. the persons constituting such a group
3. a social system formed on such a basis

Meritocracy is seen by most as a “good thing”, the opposite of and a cure for “aristocracy”. Ironically “aristocracy” originally meant precisely “rule by the best”. Funny how that turned out. Is the term “meritocracy” going the same way? The opposite of meritocracy is in fact “kakistocracy” which literally means “government by the worst persons; a form of government in which the worst persons are in power”. Hmm.

This topic was inspired by Harvard professor and philosopher Michael Sandel and his book “The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?” He sees our free market meritocracy as one cause of the polarization we see in America. Here is an article about him in The Guardian, and here is short video on the subject by Sandel: Why do people vote for Trump? | Footnotes with Michael Sandel, for any who wish to bone up before the salon (not required).





Posted to Religious Exploration, Salon - Bohm Dialogue.