The Tyranny of Merit: What Became of the Common Good?---- Michael J Sandel

 

Every society evolves ideologies to justify extant inequalities contends Thomas Piketty in his book Capital and Ideology.

Michel Sandel, American political philosopher and Harvard Professor, argues in the book under discussion here, that the wholly unwarranted justification for the huge increase in inequality in the USA over the last four decades is provided by the notions that conflate market value, material success and ‘merit’, with moral value. The argument, even of the so-called centre-left, from Clinton to Obama, is that success -- in the market driven, unregulated, globalized world in general and the US in particular -- is based on individual merit and is, therefore, a ‘good’ thing and occupies the moral high ground.

Professor Sandel in this disturbing book -- disturbing because it questions some ‘ basic and obvious truths’-- examines the emergence of a “meritocracy” in the US since the 1980s as a consequence of globalization: free(er) trade and capital flows, outsourcing et al. Globalization  has been accompanied by rapidly growing inequality in income and wealth and a growing divide between the white collar college-degree-holding rich and the blue collar, not so well ‘credentialled’, working classes. The justification for the emergence of such a meritocracy is that given equality of opportunity the rise of the talented -- the meritorious -- is both natural and just. Individual effort and ability is being rewarded and that is all to the good -- morally good.

Sandel’s demolition of the merits of ‘meritocracy’ proceeds in two stages. To begin with, even in the land of the free and despite all the hype about the American Dream, there is, in fact, no equality of opportunity in the US. A college degree, especially from a high-profile college, is the modern key to high salaries and wealth accumulation and SAT scores are most closely corelated to family income as are admissions to good colleges! Well-to-do families ensure their children get admissions counselling, attend test prep classes, participate in CV building exercises like high profile sports and highly regarded social work. The kids work hard, but work is not the only criterion here; natural ability, if indeed there is such a thing unrelated to ‘nurture‘ and environment, is helped by what props their parents’ concern and most importantly, income can provide. Two-thirds of Ivy League students come from the top 20% of the income distribution and at Princeton and Yale more come from the top 1% than from the bottom 60%! And when the front door doesn’t open there is a back door -- alumni are favoured with admissions for their wards and donations help a great deal too.

Before proceeding to the second and more powerful argument against meritocracy, we need to step back and look at some of its more distressing consequences. If I merit success due to my personal ability and hard work, then it follows that she who does not succeed also merits her failure. Thus, you have unwarranted hubris on one end and humiliation and resentment on the other and society faces a growing, emotionally charged divide powered by arrogance on the one hand and anger and a lack of self-worth on the other. A recipe for social disharmony and for the empowerment of savvy political operators who can manipulate the simmering anger, create ‘enemies’, and rise to power on a wave of violent negative emotion. The Democrats, argues the author, by their extended support of the logic of globalization and meritocracy without effectively tackling the economic and social consequences thereof, stoked the fires of resentment and paved the way for Donald Trump’s victory!

And this brings us to the principal argument against the tyranny of merit. Natural ability and talent --which in most cases is impossible to define and measure, and exceptions only prove the rule here, is about more than nature alone. Nurture is critically important for the development of talents and abilities and this, in turn, depends a great deal on good fortune! The contingent nature of good fortune is self-evident and destroys any argument that there is any moral value attached to individual ability. Besides, an individual talent to be materially rewarded in a market economy needs to be located where there is market demand for it and a high monetary value placed on that talent by the available market. A matter of good fortune again. Luck does not necessarily favour the good, so the successful cannot seriously claim a moral right to their success.

From the above it follows that even if true equality of opportunity could somehow be ensured in any society, meritocracy would even then not lead to a just society. Opportunity may somehow be made equal but ability is still a matter of luck and rewarding the lucky does not ensure justice or make for a healthy society!

Professor Sandel’s focus is almost entirely on the USA and developments there since the 1980s. However, the arguments presented have widespread relevance. The valorization -- even sacralization -- of market outcomes is widespread in most modern societies and the consequences of globalization, free and inadequately unregulated markets and growing financialization of developed and developing economies pose a major threat to social cohesion, justice and stability everywhere.

The Tyranny of Merit is disturbing because it makes one think and question. A book worth reading and absorbing with care and attention.

Happy reading.

Capital and Ideology --- Thomas Piketty

 

Professor Thomas Piketty has once again, in 2020, published a 1000+ page book that educates, challenges, provokes and disturbs. The book is simply and clearly written, cogently and convincingly argued with loads of data and details. It demands stamina on part of the reader and offers in return a serious educational experience-a very high return on the effort expended.

Piketty’s focus is on the nature and evolution of inequality regimes across space and over time -- from the pre-modern world to Donald Trump and from China and India to Russia, Europe, Brazil and the USA. An ‘inequality regime’ is defined as a set of ‘discourses and institutional arrangements’ that both ‘justify and structure extent inequality’ -- social, economic and political -- in a society.

The principal takeaway from this book-for this blogger- is that there is always hope; nothing is inevitable and historical determinism is a myth. Sweden was an extremely inegalitarian society till about the early 1920s, after which, quite unexpectedly, it took a radically different path and became over time not only a very prosperous, but also one of the very egalitarian societies in the developed world.

This, however, is not a widespread phenomenon and the reverse too happens, and far more often. From about the mid-twentieth century till around the 1980s inequality in both income and wealth declined in Europe and the USA: the destruction of war in Europe, steeply progressive taxation, nationalization of various sectors in many countries, minimum wage legislations, the emergence of welfare states, et al led to this outcome. This, however, was reversed thereafter and a renewed sacralization of property, moderation of progressive taxation, globalization, deregulation of financial sectors and the ‘tyranny of meritocracy’ -- to steal a phrase from another book -- have propelled a drastic about turn.

And this leads us to the second major takeaway from the book: measures to bring about an egalitarian society and build a welfare state are not inimical to growth; history teaches that such measures led to greater growth than the subsequent freeing up of the markets, reduction of tax rates and the liberalization-globalization paradigm.

US per-capita income grew at 2.2% pa between 1950-1990 and only 1.1% pa between 1990-2020 while inequality increased significantly, real minimum wage declined, and top income tax rates fell from an average of 72% in 1950-90 to 35% in 1990-2020.

In Europe too, the same pattern emerged -- reduced inequality and fiscal progressivity was associated with higher growth between 1950-1990 and globalization, meritocracy and reduced rates of direct taxation with a slowing down and growing inequality.

The lesson here, of the value -- material and moral -- of egalitarianism, is a very difficult sell in an environment powered by unrestrained greed. Regardless, the facts are there for all to see. An interesting snippet of information here—labour participation in management- seats on the boards of corporates is a given in Germany and Sweden and both economies are none the worse for it, to put it mildly! Co-management is not some pinko-idealist fantasy but a reality in two strong industrial economies.

The lessons of history, especially as regards the ‘quasi-sacralization’ of property are both disturbing and thought provoking. When the British abolished slavery in 1833, the slave owners were indemnified and compensated for their loss of property!! About 20 million pounds sterling (approx. 5% of National Income of Britain at that time) was paid to about 4000 slave owners as compensation for their loss; the slaves of course were not paid any compensation! The French did the same when they abolished slavery and gave Haiti its freedom! Incidentally, when the British, helped by the French, forced China to open up to opium imports (the Opium Wars of the mid 19 Century) the Chinese had to pay a war indemnity to the winners! The cost of the wars was a business expense paid for by the looser. Free trade is both ideology and business, and perhaps more business than ideology.

Marked inequality in education systems, not just in US and British higher education, but even in French state run systems at all levels, is detailed by the author and highlighted as one of the basic drivers of modern inegalitarianism. Rich parents are almost a necessary condition for children to acquire ‘quality’ higher education, which in turn determines salary levels and in turn contributes to the low levels of intergenerational mobility and to income and wealth inequality.

Some numbers are illustrative -- between 2000 and 2020 the top decile in the US acquired 45%-50% of total income, while the top centile, 20%! Wealth inequality is greater than income inequality and the top decile had 70% to 75% of all private property!

The basis for the discontents of globalization/deregulation et al are fairly evident.

Besides shining a hard clear light on the evolution of inequality regimes, the author offers possible solutions too -- reasoned and not unreal possibilities culled, for the most part, from real world examples.

Prof. Piketty paints on a very large canvas but a great deal of his focus is on the US and Europe in general and France in particular. Nonetheless, there are important lessons to be learnt from working through Capital and Ideology. The task requires both time and stamina, but for anyone interested in the issues he addresses, the effort is enormously rewarding.

Happy reading. 

Masters of Detective Fiction - Arthur Upfield

 

Readers of detective fiction rejoice! Upfield’s ‘Boney’ series are now available on Amazon (and cheaply on Kindle)!

Arthur Upfield (1890-1964) migrated to Australia from England at age twenty and proceeded, after fighting in WWI, to write an extraordinary set of detective novels starring Napoleon ‘Boney’ Bonaparte, an Aussi police detective.

In the interest of full disclosure, it must be said that Upfield was writing in the first half of the 20^th century in ‘white’ Australia and true to context -- ‘desh, kaal and patra’-- there is politically incorrect material to be found in his work. The dreaded ‘N’ word is used occasionally and the phrase ‘half caste’ is found often. And, of course, Boney is a ‘half caste’ in whom the “ instinctive ‘Abo’” and the rational and logical white are often at war. Such contextual aberrations apart, the novels are an absolutely delightful read.

 I discovered Boney in the footpath bookstalls of what was then known as Flora Fountain, Mumbai, back in the day. Having devoured the first book I had picked up out of sheer curiosity, I proceeded to hunt down and procure all that were to be found on the pavements of South Mumbai. The books were in pretty poor condition then and are close to disintegrating now, but are kept carefully and reread occasionally with great effort -- the paper is crumbling and the binding coming apart. I had refrained from blogging about Boney as the books were long out of print and simply not to be found anywhere; but today, purely by accident, I found that Amazon has resurrected them and on Kindle they are around Rs 500 a pop. This is a price well worth paying, in my humble opinion, for a long afternoon’s entertainment.

The Upfield books are slim volumes that narrate Boney’s hunt for evildoers -- murderers mostly -- in distant and beautifully described parts of distant Australia before the advent of the Internet, cellphones and DNA technology for solving crimes. If we consider Protagonist, Plot and Pace as the three pillars of detective fiction, then Upfield builds all three remarkably skillfully to create an entertainment experience that is often attempted but rarely achieved as successfully.

Upfield’s sketches of nature and life in remote regions of Australia present a fascinating picture of the world Down Under in those days. He has obviously been there and loved it, and that shows. The plots are gripping and Boney, of course, is remarkable.

In all fairness, one cannot disclose the details of a murder mystery’s plot and generalities become uninteresting after a point, so I must conclude this post with a simple exhortation:

A quiet afternoon, a cold brew or two and Boney beside you, adventuring in the Australian outback and the Corona blues retreat for a while, the evil ones are bested and good triumphs over bad in the fictional world of Arthur Upfield.

Ah bliss!

Happy reading.