The Tyranny of Merit: Can We Find the Common Good?

　　我們生活在不是贏者就是輸家的時代，機會被雙手奉上，獻給早已擁有一切的富人。社會階級僵化和不平等，讓人們深信的「只要努力，人人都能成功」成為天大謊言，由之引發的憤怒與挫折感撲天蓋地而來，激起民粹主義的示威與社會分化，更進一步導致政府與人民間的隔閡加劇，讓我們所面臨的挑戰更為嚴峻。

　　桑德爾在本書中，對「功績主義」(meritocracy)提出強而有力的抨擊。這一概念的核心信念，原是在於人能夠藉由辛勤工作來掌控自己命運的「自由」，以及藉此獲取財富、權力與聲望的「正當性」。如任何人能得到利益，必然是因為他擁有才能、理應得到那些資源，在此信念下，成功無疑是種美德。然而，桑德爾指出，實際上要達到功成名就的地位，背後還包含家族地位、受教育程度、運氣等等許多超出人為掌控的因素。如今，在功績主義盛行的當代社會，事業有成的人養成傲慢的氣息，對於趨於劣勢的人們，也絲毫不存憐憫之心，甚至刻薄以待，這樣的風氣對社會有什麼影響，自然不言而喻。而對於奠基於此一信念，無論左右派政治人物都提倡的文憑主義──鼓勵勞工取得文憑以改善生活，桑德爾更提出譴責，認為這削弱了那些欠缺資格證照的人們的社會認可與工作尊嚴，使得許多勞工深受社會偏見折磨。

　　桑德爾指出，如果要克服我們正面臨的社會分化等危機，就必須重新思考我們對「成功」和「失敗」的定義，當人們越認為自己的成功都是來自於個人的努力，就越難了解到謙遜和心懷感激的重要，也更難主動去關注公眾利益。桑德爾針對此一問題，更進一步提出諸如改變高等學府挑選學生的機制，使更多被社會認為「沒有資格」的人，能夠得到進入這道窄門的機會等方式，改變如今功績主義為王的社會氛圍。

　　本書試圖喚醒深陷其中的我們，為社會指引一條改變的道路。(文/博客來編譯)

A Times Literary Supplement’s Book of the Year 2020
A New Statesman’s Best Book of 2020
A Bloomberg’s Best Book of 2020
A Guardian Best Book About Ideas of 2020

The world-renowned philosopher and author of the bestselling 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 generates among the winners and the harsh judgement it imposes on those left behind, and traces the dire consequences across a wide swath of American life. 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.

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.