The Tyranny of Merit
What's Become of the Common Good?
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The Tyranny of Merit
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Narrated by:
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Michael J. Sandel
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Written by:
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Michael J. Sandel
About this listen
This program is read by the author.
The world-renowned philosopher and author of the best-selling Justice explores the central question of our time: What has become of the common good?
These are dangerous times for democracy. We live in an age of winners and losers, where the odds are stacked in favor of the already fortunate. Stalled social mobility and entrenched inequality give the lie to the American credo that "you can make it if you try". The consequence is a brew of anger and frustration that has fueled populist protest and extreme polarization and led to deep distrust of both government and our fellow citizens - leaving us morally unprepared to face the profound challenges of our time.
World-renowned philosopher Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the crises that are upending our world, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalization and rising inequality. Sandel shows the hubris a meritocracy fosters among the winners and the indignities it inflicts on those left behind. And he offers an alternative way of thinking about success - more attentive to the role of luck in human affairs, more conducive to an ethic of humility and solidarity, and more affirming of the dignity of work. The Tyranny of Merit points us toward a hopeful vision of a new politics of the common good.
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
"This is a remarkable book about justice. In his unique and powerful moral voice, Michael Sandel digs at the roots of our divisions, dissects the causes of inequality, and dismantles the lazy orthodoxy of those on the left and the right. Accessible and profound, The Tyranny of Merit is a revelatory assessment of pervasive unfairness in our society, driven in part by a naïve and myopic reliance on the notion of merit. In a time of easy rhetoric and thoughtless tribalism, this provocative book is a must-read for anyone who still cares about the common good. You will catch yourself wondering, again and again, 'Why have I never thought of it that way?' No good faith reader will come away from this book unchanged." (Preet Bharara, former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and author of Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law)
"Astute, insightful, and empathetic, Sandel exposes the cruelty at the heart of some of our most beloved myths about success. A must-read for anyone struggling to understand populist resentment, and why, for many Americans, the American Dream has come to feel more like a taunt than a promise. This book is just what we need right now." (Tara Westover, author of Educated)
"The Tyranny of Merit deftly exposes the flaws and fallacies of meritocratic philosophy. In lucid, illuminating prose, Sandel makes a compelling case for uprooting inequality and building a fairer society shaped by true principles of justice. A seminal work." (Darren Walker, president, Ford Foundation)
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Una frattura si allarga sempre di più. L'abbiamo ignorata, sottovalutata, creduta lontana, eppure da cinquant'anni si amplia e si ramifica, spalancando voragini tra i continenti, le nazioni e i cittadini stessi. È "The Divide", il divario economico tra ricchi e poveri del mondo: 4,3 miliardi di persone vivono con meno di 5 dollari al giorno mentre otto uomini posseggono la stessa ricchezza della metà più povera del pianeta.
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- Written by: Michael J. Sandel
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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- By Chuong Nguyen on 2022-04-02
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What Money Can't Buy
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Story4 out of 5 stars 14
Should we pay children to read books or to get good grades? Should we allow corporations to pay for the right to pollute the atmosphere? Is it ethical to pay people to test risky new drugs or to donate their organs? What about hiring mercenaries to fight our wars? Auctioning admission to elite universities? Selling citizenship to immigrants willing to pay?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 27
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story5 out of 5 stars 24
We are familiar with maps that outline all 50 states. And we are also familiar with the idea that the United States is an "empire", exercising power around the world. But what about the actual territories - the islands, atolls, and archipelagos - this country has governed and inhabited? In How to Hide an Empire, author Daniel Immerwahr tells the fascinating story of the United States outside the United States. In crackling, fast-paced prose, he reveals forgotten episodes that cast American history in a new light.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book, Great Narrator
- By Andrew on 2021-09-14
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Bullshit Jobs
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- Written by: David Graeber
- Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 212
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 181
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 179
Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs”. It went viral. After a million online views in 17 different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer.
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Enjoyed
- By Anonymous User on 2018-09-11
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The Case Against Perfection
- Written by: Michael J. Sandel
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1
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The Divide
- Guida per risolvere la disuguaglianza globale
- Written by: Jason Hickel
- Narrated by: Oliviero Cappellini
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- Unabridged
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Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
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Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Una frattura si allarga sempre di più. L'abbiamo ignorata, sottovalutata, creduta lontana, eppure da cinquant'anni si amplia e si ramifica, spalancando voragini tra i continenti, le nazioni e i cittadini stessi. È "The Divide", il divario economico tra ricchi e poveri del mondo: 4,3 miliardi di persone vivono con meno di 5 dollari al giorno mentre otto uomini posseggono la stessa ricchezza della metà più povera del pianeta.
Written by: Jason Hickel
What the critics say
“Astute, insightful, and empathetic, Sandel exposes the cruelty at the heart of some of our most beloved myths about success. A must-read for anyone struggling to understand populist resentment, and why, for many Americans, the American Dream has come to feel more like a taunt than a promise. This book is just what we need right now.” (Tara Westover, author of Educated)
“The Tyranny of Merit deftly exposes the flaws and fallacies of meritocratic philosophy. In lucid, illuminating prose, Sandel makes a compelling case for uprooting inequality and building a fairer society shaped by true principles of justice. A seminal work.” (Darren Walker, president, Ford Foundation)
What listeners say about The Tyranny of Merit
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Irene Schmid
- 2023-02-02
Shifted my worldview
I was having trouble making sense of the rise of populism. Sandel offers a credible explanation
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JMS
- 2021-03-16
Sandel attacks "rhetoric of rising"
What I enjoyed most about this book was Sandel’s exploration of a distinctly American flavour of meritocracy…. rooted in centuries-old Puritan teachings about predestination and being among god’s elect, as well contemporary ideas about the Protestant work ethic and extreme individualism, including popular culture renditions of the American dream and self-actualisation. The focus on the United States makes sense here, since its meritocratic ideals are coupled with historic rates of disparity in wealth. But denial of this simple fact prevails. Surveys show that 70% of Americans think the poor can make it out of poverty on their own, thanks to America’s unique opportunities. Sandel cites research revealing that the poor have more chance of achieving the quote unquote American Dream of rags to riches, if they live in Canada or Denmark.
Complete review available on the Audiobook Reviews in Five Minutes podcast
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chad Colgur
- 2022-12-06
Equal opportunity is not enough
I’m always thrilled to find a work of philosophy that truly changes my opinion. I want equal opportunity to be the answer because it is so easy to imagine. It is no where near sufficient for the task before us as citizens of a liberal democracy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Padraig O'Huard
- 2020-12-29
Required reading
Sandel’s thesis represents a cogent, analytical and piercing response to the societal decay and the requisite economic and political upheaval in the form of grotesque inequity and the rise of authoritarianism that characterizes our times. This book should be required reading for every politician at every level. A full and vigorous debate of the ideas contained in this book will go a long way to undoing the damage done to our Western societies by four decades of unfettered neoliberal market ideologies coupled with a perverted meritocracy that leaves people damaged and hopeless - as both winners and losers at the same time.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- RandomAccount007
- 2023-06-05
Unbelievable
The facts were hard hitting and the arguments were strong. Could have gone deeper into some of them. the premise of the myth of meritocracy was well supported. Poor audio quality only thing preventing 5 stars.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- UNSC Customer
- 2020-12-11
Good point poorly done
Many issues addressed are needing attention. Detail in the obvious then makes claims without evidence.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- F. Swoboda
- 2021-09-04
Needs a history and theology lesson.
Disappointing analysis of the History. He was very picky with how he used history to prove his point. Rather than analyzing all countries and then concluding, he cherry picked a few examples proving his hypothesis. His use of the Bible is fit for a a first year seminary student at best. When using the Bible one must first understand the words and understand the context of the time and then come to an understanding of the meaning at that time. He however picked and chose parts that seemed to agree with him. Using his method of biblical interpretation I could easily destroy his hypothesis. But that is not how we use the Bible.
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