Inherited Merit

In which I review The Meritocracy Trap by Daniel Markovits:

“Markovits may be right that productivity and money should be redistributed in our society, but real flourishing will be impossible as long as dignity, glory, and relevance hinge on economic productivity and potential. Indeed, any system that allows social mobility on the basis of productivity will cultivate the sense that productivity is the most important thing. Because we are sorted by our economic productivity and potential, we find ourselves in communities that are homogeneous along these axes. How can we avoid putting “merit” at the center of our lives if losing it will cause us to lose the respect of our peers?”

Read more at First Things.