Michael Sandel on “Merit” and “Common Good”

Michael Sandel became internationally well-known for his public discussions of “justice.” His new book about “meritocracy” tells us why it is potentially a danger.

A society based on “merit” celebrates freedom—a good thing. People believe they control their destiny by working hard. When we tell someone “you can do anything if you work hard enough,” we believe we are encouraging them. From this perspective, meritocracy gives people a sense of power.

Sandel points out, however, that there is a dark side to this: we begin to think our success is all due to our own effort. We overlook the advantages we had and the ways that other people contributed to our success. We are proud of ourselves, and forget to be thankful for the people who helped us in many ways.

That is bad enough, but we also tend to judge other people on the basis of “merit.” If personal responsibility is everything, we think people who fail must be responsible for their fate. We don’t try to imagine ourselves in other people’s shoes. We can’t see the negatives that they experienced—such as poverty, family problems, poor educational opportunities, inadequate nutrition.

Sandel points out that the civic concept of “the common good” requires that we use our abilities and political action not just for our own needs but the needs of our fellow citizens. Contributing to society is a higher value than personal merit. We are obligated to contributing to our community, and that includes people who have not had the advantages we have had.

(257 words)

Michael J. Sandel, “The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?” (2020)