Quotes from Michael J. Sandel

Em condições de desigualdade desenfreada e de mobilidade social estagnada, a repetição da mensagem de que somos responsáveis pelo nosso destino e que merecemos o que recebemos corrói a solidariedade e desmoraliza aqueles que foram deixados para trás pela globalização.

It is the sensibility of Ecclesiastes: "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

Trump supporters resented liberals' rhetoric of rising, not because they rejected meritocracy, but because they believed it described the prevailing social order. They had submitted to its discipline, had accepted the hard judgment it pronounced on their own merits, and believed others should do the same.

work, at its best, is a socially integrating activity, an arena of recognition, a way of honoring our obligation to contribute to the common good.

It points beyond the tyranny of merit toward a less rancorous, more generous public life.

maximizing welfare, respecting freedom, and promoting virtue. Each of these ideas points to a different way of thinking about justice.

financial crisis, something bigger is at stake. The most fateful change that unfolded during the past three decades was not an increase in greed. It was the expansion of markets, and of market values, into spheres of life where they don't belong.

Of those born poor in America, few make it to the top. In fact, most do not even make it to the middle class. Studies of upward mobility typically divide the income ladder into five rungs. Of those born on the bottom rung, only around 4 to 7 percent rise to the top, and only about a third reach the middle rung or higher. Although the exact numbers vary from one study to the next, very few Americans live out the "rags to riches" story celebrated in the American dream.37

O mérito exerce, em simultâneo, a sua tirania em duas direções. Entre aqueles que acabam por chegar ao topo, induz um perfeccionismo debilitante e uma arrogância meritocrática que luta para ocultar uma auto-estima fragilidade. Entre aqueles que exclui, impõe um desmoralizaste, e mesmo humilhante, sentimento de fracasso.

Recall the richly compensated meth dealer and the modestly paid high school teacher.)

In an unequal society, those who land on top want to believe their success is morally justified. In a meritocratic society, this means the winners must believe they have earned their success through their own talent and hard work.