Michael J. Sandel teaches political philosophy at Harvard University. His books What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets and Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? were international best sellers and have been translated into 27 languages. Sandel's legendary course Justice was the first Harvard course to be made freely available online and has been viewed by tens of millions. His BBC series The Public Philosopher explores the philosophical ideas lying behind the headlines with participants from around the world.
Now's a good time for both sides to sit down for a very serious talk, with The Tyranny of Merit required reading for all. --Arlie Hoschschild, New York Times One of the most famous public intellectuals in the English-speaking world . . . The Tyranny of Merit is Sandel's response to Brexit and the election of Donald Trump . . . Sandel draws on a vocabulary that challenges liberal notions of autonomy in a way that has been unfashionable for decades. Words such as dependency , indebtedness , mystery , humility and luck recur in his book. --Julian Coman, The Guardian [An] engaging and timely critique . . . that will help us to heal our divided societies. --Matthew Goodwin, The Times (London) A rich, incisive analysis of how the meritocratic ideal contributes to contemporary political crisis. --Publisher's Weekly The Tyranny of Merit is infused with moral urgency, elegantly written and cogently argued, with a core conclusion both succinct and indisputable: meritocracy does not counter inequality, it justifies it. --Brian Bethune, MacLean's The Tyranny of Merit is original, lively and no mere critique: unlike many others who have written on the sorting of society into winners and losers, Sandel produces a persuasive argument about the kind of community we should seek . . . The Tyranny of Merit is an important work, and makes a profound point that our leaders would do well to understand. --Nick Timothy, Daily Telegraph Sandel is the most important and influential living philosopher . . . [His] new book offers a profound critique of individualism, making the case for the move away from self to community, from 'my wants now' to 'the common good'. --Paul Collier, The Times Literary Supplement Sandel offers a cogent, penetrating critique of meritocracy, which, he argues persuasively, has trammeled our sense of community and mutual respect...A stimulating examination of a divisive social and political problem. --The Kirkus Review Brilliant . . . Sandel's critique is as compelling as his plea for the renewal of social bonds is powerful. Besides debunking a series of myths-- that success is self-made, that humans are self-sufficient, that educational attainment matters more than the dignity of work--the book is a brave attack on technocracy as the foundation of a just social order. --Adrian Pabst, Prospect 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 naive 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 U.S. 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. A crucial book for this moment. --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 The Tyranny of Merit is truly a great book. It is the rare book of political theory that will be widely accessible, make news, and provoke healthy debate -- debate that will strengthen our democracy regardless of the side one takes. And it will resonate widely, even profoundly, about the situation we are all in. --Elliot Gerson, Vice President of the Aspen Institute