My Personal Book of the Year

Michael J. Sandel's The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? is a very persuasive and lucid argument for the darker side of meritocracy. Pursued as the ultimate goal, meritocracy gives its winners the illusory sense of having won the economic race through individual talent and effort and bequeaths on its losers a deep resentment against the winners and a despair at oneself. Especially valuable is Sandel's emphasis on the psychological harm in addition to the economic damage. It is not enough to redistribute economic gains. We need to elevate again the dignity of work, for its intrinsic value and its contributions to the common good.

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