Sometimes people on the left run this line that individual ability doesn’t exist, and I think that’s fucking nuts. We know that, for example, I could play 1000 chess games against Magnus Carlson and lose every one. In fact, there are people who are quite good at chess who would lose 100-0 against Carlson. And Carlson would lose 100-0 to the latest... See more

You can’t call for something for years and then complain why people say it exists: A shot at the left

I’m an equal opportunity sort (ha!), so let’s take a few shots at the left. You can’t A) demand for years that institutions make balancing the race and gender of their staff compositions a priority, and B) then express disbelief when people... See more

In terms of subjective experience, do you know how many people think they are more talented than their station ? Approximately all of them!

Maybe we can create a world in which a dignified existence, enjoyable work and even the opportunity to engage in cultural and intellectual creation don’t require you to get one of a relative handful of intellectual, cultural or artistic jobs.

to make a claim against society on the basis of meritocracy, you have to say, “I lost, and maybe I’m not that special.

We could break down meritocracy into a necessity condition and a sufficency condition

Necessity condition: In a meritocratic society, you have to be some positive function of (talented+hardworking) to make it.

Sufficiency condition : In a meritocratic society, being some positive function of (talented+hardworking) means that, barring tragic events,... See more

Another interesting fact about the public’s relationship to meritocracy is that they often see it as a form of moral entitlement . You, as an individual, have been wronged if you are not given ‘a fair chance’- and quite possibly more than a chance- to rise to the rank your talents imply. Almost no political philosopher- whether libertarian,... See more

Finally, I have read so many different variations of the argument “well, now the shoe’s on the other foot- tough!”. We can dismiss this simply. Collective punishment is as creepy as hell. Don’t want to look like a spiteful creep? Then don’t support collective punishment.