If the United States is basically a meritocracy, then maybe the extreme inequality that exists in the United States isn’t a problem. After all, everyone is just getting what they deserve—even if there are serious differences in access to opportunity. In this episode, we examine the idea of “merit” and argue that the United States is not even remotely close to being a meritocracy. We also argue, however, that we shouldn’t want a pure meritocracy, and that this means that the American Dream isn’t even a good ideal to aspire to in the first place.
If the United States is basically a meritocracy, then maybe the extreme inequality that exists in the United States isn’t a problem. After all, everyone is just getting what they deserve—even if there are serious differences in access to opportunity. In this episode, we examine the idea of “merit” and argue that the United States is not even remotely close to being a meritocracy. We also argue, however, that we shouldn’t want a pure meritocracy, and that this means that the American Dream isn’t even a good ideal to aspire to in the first place.