At first glance, the meritocratic ideal is an appealing one: individual effort, not inherited privilege, ought to determine one's lot in life. However, as critics like Michael Sandel have pointed out, the excessive ambition and endless competition demanded by meritocracy can exhaust the individual and tear apart the social fabric. On Tuesday, October 24, join Columbia history professor and Contemporary Civilization instructor Richard John (Journalism) for a talk on Sandel's recent book, The Tyranny of Merit. Professor John will discuss the surprisingly recent rise of meritocracy and why we should regard it as problematic.

In anticipation of the lecture, we will be reading an article in The Atlantic by Michael Sandel: “What Liberals Get Wrong About Work.” For those who happen to have a copy of The Tyranny of Merit, we recommend reading chapters 5 and 6.

This seminar is part of our Fall 2023 series Meritocracy and Its Discontents.