Preemies, Genes, Meritocracy, and the Left
Social Darwinism and neo-liberal meritocracy create the impression that they favour the individual who is naturally the best. He or she would have made it anyway; we are just giving nature a helping hand to speed the ‘fittest’ up the ladder. But the reality is somewhat different. Both social Darwinists and meritocratists themselves determine who is
... See morePaul Verhaeghe • What About Me?: The Struggle for Identity in a Market-Based Society
they see individual merit as just one factor among many that determines success or failure in a competitive market. They tend to consider the economic system as a whole rather than just the individual players within it, which means taking into account such factors as monopolies, old-boy networks, institutional racism and sexism, and cycles of advan
... See moreKeith Payne • The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Changes the Way We Think, Live and Die
Fishkin argues that we need to refashion the opportunity structure itself, to accommodate new channels and create what he calls opportunity pluralism. “The goal needs to be to give people access to a broader range of paths they can pursue,” Fishkin writes in Bottlenecks: A New Theory of Equal Opportunity, “so that each of us is then able to decide—... See more
David Brooks • How the Ivy League Broke America
An information economy segregates on ideas and not on genetics.
Michael Malice • The New Right: A Journey to the Fringe of American Politics
3 Ideas From Me
I.
"Don't let the hope of finding a better way prevent you from starting down the best path you know of right now. This day won't come again."
II.
"The usual story is that people with "good genes" are those with incredible athleticism or remarkable intelligence, but sometimes I wonder if the greatest genetic edge goes to the people ... See more
3 Ideas From Me
I.
"Don't let the hope of finding a better way prevent you from starting down the best path you know of right now. This day won't come again."
II.
"The usual story is that people with "good genes" are those with incredible athleticism or remarkable intelligence, but sometimes I wonder if the greatest genetic edge goes to the people ... See more