181. What’s So Great About Meritocracy?

No Stupid Questions

Do you really deserve the credit for your accomplishments? Should college admissions be determined by lottery? And how did Mike’s contribution to a charity auction change his life?

• SOURCES:
  • Warren Buffett, investor and philanthropist.
  • James Flynn, political philosopher at the University of Otago.
  • Robert Frank, professor emeritus of management at Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.
  • Rogé Karma, staff writer at The Atlantic.
  • Nicholas Lemann, professor of journalism and dean emeritus at Columbia Journalism School.
  • Daniel Markovits, professor of law at Yale Law School.
  • Charles Munger, investor and philanthropist.
  • John Rawls, 20th-century legal and political philosopher.
  • Guy Raz, creator and host of How I Built This and Wisdom from the Top; founder and C.E.O. of Built-It Productions.
  • Michael Sandel, professor of government at Harvard University.
  • Martin Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Ryan Smith, founder and executive chairman of Qualtrics; owner of the Utah Jazz.

• RESOURCES:
  • The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? by Michael Sandel (2020).
  • The Meritocracy Trap: How America's Foundational Myth Feeds Inequality, Dismantles the Middle Class, and Devours the Elite, by Daniel Markovits (2019).
  • "'The Meritocracy Trap,' Explained," by Rogé Karma (Vox, 2019).
  • "Reflections About Intelligence Over 40 Years," by James Flynn (Intelligence, 2018).
  • "Here’s Why Warren Buffett Says That He and Charlie Munger Are Successful," by Emmie Martin (CNBC, 2018).
  • Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy, by Robert Frank (2016).
  • The Lottery, film by Madeleine Sackler (2010).
  • The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy, by Nicholas Lemann (1999).
  • “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment,” speech by Charles Munger (1995).

• EXTRAS:
  • "What’s the Point of I.Q. Testing?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
  • "What’s So Bad About Nepotism?" by No Stupid Questions (2022).