But his concern is claims to merit, and he notes that even where religious communities emphasize grace, a sense of pride and self-help erodes any ethics of gratitude or humility. Would it not be better, Sandel asks, for society to overcome this “morally blinkered” point of view? Would not greater humility, and greater concern with shared well-being, help mend our resentments and fractious politics?Ĭompetency and personal responsibility do matter, and Sandel knows they differ among individuals. A resulting preoccupation with technocratic expertise has weakened concern about pernicious inequalities and heightened fixation on economic advantage. They have also defined the good in economic terms and played down the moral and civic virtue that is basic to citizen solidarity. Meritocracy easily hardens into a kind of tyranny-Sandel calls it “unjust rule.” In America, the winners have managed to consolidate their advantages, pass them on to their children, and thus create a hereditary aristocracy.
Variances in family advantages, opportunities for education, and mobility give the lie to what Sandel calls “meritocratic hubris,” a boastful frame of mind that is both galling and self-deceived. They have also benefited from luck-not least for their raw talent, and also for their given circumstances. Successful people are indebted to parents, teachers, mentors, and friends. But despite the luster of merit winners confer on themselves, they are neither as self-sufficient nor as self-made as they suppose.
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