The Role of Elites in the Development of the Country

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Each of these elite groups is significant in its own right and has various years pathologies that we need to take seriously. Soft power it's ability to define the operating system which really drives the country seems a lot more profound than hard-edged power. It may be even more than another half the percentage of people's for whom sort of progressive moral prescriptions have a normative command force. We can very much be in danger at that point of thinking that we're talking to everybody and everybody's listening to us, says Julian Zelizer.

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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