The Importance of Self-Deception in the American Elite

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I was astounded to learn a few years ago that the word Bobo really was just made up by David Brooks because when I was briefly living in Harris after college spending a year studying there. It fell to me like very much no tukton is term, but a reason within the French discourse and a term that was decades old when I then heard about Bobo's in paradise later on. But to go to deeper question here. It seems to me that this lack of accurate and itself description is at the heart of many of these problems right? There is something quintessentially American about this because America's elite was always the self made a leader was the immigrant was always the non arist

William Deresiewicz is an American author, essayist, and critic. He taught English at Yale University from 1998 to 2008. He is the author, among other books, of Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and William Deresiewicz discuss how the intensely meritocratic nature of elite universities prioritizes striving over deep learning; the instrumentalization of traditional pursuits to the detriment of mastery; and how broader cultural transformations frustrate deep immersion in art, friendship, and learning.

This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

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