Song of a Reformed Headhunter

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.

I'm feeling very grateful for Thow Xin Wei's incisive review of CONNOR & SEAL. He does not like everything about the book, but he expresses his reservations and insights with such understanding and empathy for the project of the book that I feel very much read. This is what true reading looks like. It takes time and thought, and to be given such time and thought is a great privilege. "This stylistic cleavage is, perhaps, a consequence of the two-part structure Koh has borrowed from Thomas and Beulah, which emphasises the separation between the two sides. Taken pessimistically, one could point out how the form reflects a "disconnection" and isolation that is inherent in the human condition at every level: between individuals, genders, ethnicities, states and citizens, and nations. But one should also see how the formal division allows for a sustained and dedicated exploration of each side, allowing us to gain a sense of the richness within. Sale...