Hello everyone, I'm Stephen West, this is philosophize this.

Thanks to the people that do all the things that support the show.

So last episode was all about the importance of participating in a democracy,

taking responsibility, having the sometimes tough conversations

with each other that eventually make up the norms of the societies we live in.

And if you wanted an example of one of these norms, a social ideal that Sandell thinks we'd benefit a lot from if we talked about it more,

how about an ideal that drives the way we think about a lot of things in Western culture,

that what we should be aiming for is a society based on the concept of a meritocracy or a system

where the rewards of a society are distributed based on who's the most talented, who works the

hardest, and who's the most qualified for the job. And a true meritocracy you could say, talented, hard-working qualified people

would be the ones that are the most socially rewarded.

Everybody knows this is a common way that people wish our societies could be set up,

and Michael Sandell in his 2020 book called The Tyranny of Merit

is going to question whether that's actually a good way to be giving recognition in a society.

And before we get into his critique, one thing needs to be

a society. And before we get into his critique,

one thing needs to be acknowledged here, right at the start, I think.

Well, I guess a question that needs to be asked here

is, why would anybody want to do it in a different way?

Why would anybody want the do it in a different way?

Why would anybody want the incentives of their society set up in any way that doesn't

primarily reward these people?

...