Listening to Michael Sandel speak about meritocracy made me reflect on the emotional undercurrents behind today’s political and social realities.
On the surface, his critique is about how societies reward people based on credentials and achievements. But beneath that, it reveals something much deeper, how these systems affect our sense of self-worth and dignity.
Sandel argues that the ideology of meritocracy – the belief that success comes purely from talent and effort – has unintentionally created a society where those who struggle are made to feel like “failures”. This isn’t just an economic issue – it’s a moral and emotional wound.
This meritocratic mindset shaped politics. It led to the divide between the so-called “winners of globalisation” and those left behind. The educated elite aligned with global trade, mobility, and open values, while many working-class citizens, particularly in rural America, felt excluded and looked down on. This is not just about jobs or income, it’s about recognition as well.
When people lose access to opportunity and lose recognition for who they are and what they contribute, it affects their identity. And when identity is not valued in the collective imagination of a nation, the result is a quiet and growing sense of powerlessness.
Loss of dignity is not always loud. It doesn’t always look like protest. But it runs deep, and it can drive decisions, reactions, and political shifts we don’t always understand on the surface.
What I found most fascinating is that these emotional forces – dignity, humiliation, pride, fear – are not just personal. They are collective. Entire communities can carry the weight of feeling dismissed or unseen. This isn’t just about individuals, it’s about societies.
So when I ask myself what brings us here today, the answer is not only politics, economics, or identity. It is something more human. It’s about the deepest emotional layers that sit behind every action and belief.
I believe it is very important to look at that layer in every situation. By looking for the first layer – the root of how we feel, think, and act -we begin to understand more deeply.
Finding that layer can repair emotional harm that no policy can fix alone.