Notes On: “The Tyranny of Merit” – Chapter 3

In Chapter Two of his work, entitled “The Rhetoric of Rising”, Sandel considers the negative impacts of the Rhetoric of Rising on individuals and society. All Excerpt FromThe Tyranny of MeritMichael J. Sandelhttps://books.apple.com/us/book/the-tyranny-of-merit/id1498471753This material may be protected by copyright. “The suggestion that they were admitted due to luck or other factors beyond their control provokes … Continue reading Notes On: “The Tyranny of Merit” – Chapter 3

A Nation Trice Dividend

Today an appeals court upheld the Biden Administration’s push to require COVID-19 vaccines for private employers. I, and no one, should have any doubt that the Republicans governors and groups that brought the case will take this to the Supreme Court. While this is troubling in itself, it is not what I wish to discuss … Continue reading A Nation Trice Dividend

Notes On: “The Tyranny Of Merit” – Chapter Two

In Chapter Two of his work, entitled “‘Great Because Good’: A brief moral history of merit”, Sandel asked “When exactly did merit turn toxic, and how?” All Excerpt FromThe Tyranny of MeritMichael J. Sandelhttps://books.apple.com/us/book/the-tyranny-of-merit/id1498471753This material may be protected by copyright. Notes: “This is the idea that our destiny is in our hands, that our success … Continue reading Notes On: “The Tyranny Of Merit” – Chapter Two

Letting Go

What do we hold? Do we hold it for joy? Do we hold it for pain?If for neither, Why do we hold it?Think now more than ever We must let it go Surrender it to the pastFree it to who we were Not who we areIs this not simple? To let go for joy? To … Continue reading Letting Go

Words of the World… Unspoken

Tell me friend. How does one speak to the world?Does one yell from a mountain top and hope for a reply?Or does one speak to the trees, commune with them, and listen for an answer?I deeply wish to know. I wish to know their stores.I long to hear their tales.All they have seen, all they … Continue reading Words of the World… Unspoken

Notes On: “The Tyranny of Merit” – Chapter One

“As the meritocracy intensifies, the striving so absorbs us that our indebtedness recedes from view. In this way, even a fair meritocracy, one without cheating or bribery or special privileges for the wealthy, induces a mistaken impression—that we have made it on our own” Thus is the delusion of the rugged individual. No one in … Continue reading Notes On: “The Tyranny of Merit” – Chapter One

Notes On: “Global Ethics: Seminal Essays” – Two

Here I conclude my looking at Charles R. Beitz’s “Cosmopolitan Ideas and National Sentiment” from Global Ethics: Seminal Essays. “Priority for compatriots might be supported by reasons pertaining to states that are themselves analogues of the reasons pertaining to persons which support the corresponding element of private morality. Or, priority for compatriots might be based … Continue reading Notes On: “Global Ethics: Seminal Essays” – Two

The Incompatibility of Nationalism & Economic Cosmopolitanism

I wish, today, to speak very briefly on the incompatibility of nationalism and globalism, or as I shall refer to it, economic cosmopolitanism (EC). My basic argument here is that the relationship between nationalism and EC creates an deep incompatibility between themselves, the public good, and general human well being. In previous posts I have … Continue reading The Incompatibility of Nationalism & Economic Cosmopolitanism

Notes On: “Global Ethics: Seminal Essays” – One

In a previous post I looked at the definition of cosmopolitanism, and so I now which gears in my “Notes On...” posts and look at a few topics on cosmopolitanism. As I have worked slowly through “The Origins of Totalitarianism” my thoughts began to shift toward what a world without nation-states would be like. Cosmopolitanism … Continue reading Notes On: “Global Ethics: Seminal Essays” – One