We observe that countries where belief in the "American dream" (i.e., effort pays) prevails also set harsher punishment for criminals.
In my warped view of the world, everyone believes in some form of meritocracy or another; the kind of meritocracy you believe in shapes most of the rest of your political views. Here is the paper. Here are non-gated versions.
I’d like more on your warped view of the world, Tyler. For starters, what are the various kinds of meritocracies people believe in and how do they shape political views? For example, I can see how a Caplan-type ideal meritocracy (ability + effort = outcomes) shapes his political views. But what about people who largely share Bryan’s political views but reject his preferred version of meritocracy, or vice versa? Do they exist? Is David Levy an example of the former, or is analytical egalitarianism really just analytical?
If, as Prof T says, ” the kind of meritocracy you believe in shapes most of the rest of your political views,” then political discussants who wish to persuade…. might want to have ready some qualifying questions based on this insight. It is so easy to have grand discussions that never touch someone’s key belief.
If Friedman, Hayek, and Nozick were at some point attracted to the classical liberal view from other quite different views… was it because they were persuaded to change the kind of meritocracy they believed in, or to see a superior way for it to be achieved?
Comments on this entry are closed.