In the post-globalization transition to a knowledge economy, in which many working-class Americans were suddenly cut loose from meaningful jobs in manufacturing, politicians on both sides of the aisle put the onus of success on individuals. Sandel argues that American politicians have spent the past few decades promoting meritocratic educational attainment as the answer to social inequality. In his 2020 book, “The Tyranny of Merit,” political philosopher Michael J. Why shouldn’t everyone receive their due recognition for talents and labor, and why shouldn’t the most prestigious of institutions admit those with the highest test scores, regardless of race?īut the debate over who gets access to the golden goose of opportunity loses the plot on a much more urgent question: Why is there only one goose? It’s a compelling argument for those who believe in the project of American meritocracy. Cayetano: “One of the principal reasons race is treated as a forbidden classification is that it demeans the dignity and worth of a person to be judged by ancestry instead of by his or her own merit and essential qualities.” (As an aside, the court barely acknowledged another form of affirmative action that favors rich white people, legacy and donor admissions.) Writing for the court in favor of these plaintiffs, Chief Justice John Roberts highlighted a key line from a different case, Rice v. The plaintiffs alleged that by including race as a factor in admissions policies, institutions like Harvard were rewarding the less qualified (Black and Latinx students) and penalizing those who worked hard and deserved to get in (white and Asian American students). The Harvard case was the first anti-affirmative action lawsuit in which some of the plaintiffs were people of color - in this case, Asian American - the outrage at the center was over the mismatch between merit and reward. On Thursday, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court surprised no one with its rulings in two lawsuits aimed at banning race as a factor in admissions at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. The debate over who gets access to the golden goose of opportunity loses the plot on a much more urgent question: Why is there only one goose? Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle 2015
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