The purpose of the tyranny of Meredith is to try to make sense of why we're so deeply polarized.

And I think to understand it, we have to look back at the politics of the last four or five decades.

It's just not merit that tyrannizes us.

It's the neoclassical and neoliberal framework for understanding economic cause and effect,

which is equally tyrannical.

From the home offices of civic ventures in downtown Seattle, this is pitchfork economics, with Nick Hanauer,

the best place to get the truth about who gets what and why.

I'm Nick Hanauer, founder of Civic Ventures.

I'm David Goldstein, senior fellow at Civic Ventures.

It wouldn't surprise a lot of listeners, Nick, to learn that your net worth,

give or take is about a thousand times more than mine.

Does that mean, Nick, that you're a thousand times more deserving?

I'd like to think so.

Well, of course you would.

And right there, that's kind of the secret to this whole notion of meritocracy that we'll be talking about today.

That really, it's a defense of the status quo for really, really, really rich people like you.

That's right. Yeah.

No, clearly, I'm probably, sadly, not a thousand times more productive, smart, hardworking, attractive.

What else is there?

I'll take everything else.

Okay.

You're going to say, then me.

...