Peter Singer, Daniel Markovits, and Carol Gilligan discuss reevaluating the Golden Rule, exploring tolerance in democracy, navigating moral laws, nurturing relational capacities for an ethical society, valuing diverse perspectives, and expanding ethical principles to include distant strangers, animals, and future generations.

Daniel Markovits, Martin Wolf, and Madeleine Pennington discuss the meaning of productivity in the 21st century, the correlation between productivity and well-being, the role of governments in increasing output, the impact of technology on productivity, the alternative to productivity, the importance of democracy, and the urgency of preserving democracy while creating a stronger and more inclusive society.

Yale Professor Daniel Markovits discusses 'The Meritocracy Trap' critiquing meritocracy and Jeffrey Epstein's ties to MIT Media Lab. Conversations also cover how wealth affects education, income disparities, and ethical concerns in academia. Bill Gates' influence on the stock market and Volfefe index evaluating Trump's tweets' market impact are explored. The episode also touches on poverty rates, wealth inequality in the US, and various current events.

Daniel Markovits, the Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale, explores how meritocracy, intended to promote equality, has morphed into a new aristocracy. He highlights the irony of meritocracy perpetuating inequality and eroding the middle class. The discussion touches on the heritability of elite status, the precarious state of non-elite workers amid technological change, and the moral dilemmas facing professionals like lawyers. Markovits challenges listeners to consider the societal implications of wealth concentration and the cultural shifts needed to address these issues.

Yale professor Daniel Markovits discusses the failure of meritocracy, perpetuation of inequality, and loss of dignity. The decline of the middle class, the college admissions scandal, and the shift in education limiting opportunities. Strategies for redesigning the workplace for fairness and the difficulty of convincing the elite to relinquish their privileges.

The hereditary lottery, in many democracies, has effectively been replaced by a system in which talent, grit, and ability are meant to determine success. Yet, amidst income inequality and legacy of racism, many wonder whether meritocracy works. Critics point to generational wealth and networks that lead to lucrative jobs and fancy educations. Those who defend meritocracy argue that talent ultimately wins out, and despite its flaws, meritocracy remains the most effective way of lifting disenfranchised groups.   Arguing “yes” is Daniel Markovits, professor at Yale Law School and author of "The Meritocracy Trap: How America's Foundational Myth Feeds Inequality, Dismantles the Middle Class, and Devours the Elite."  Arguing “no” is Adrian Wooldridge, political editor and "Bagehot" columnist for The Economist and author of "The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World." Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan moderates.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In The Meritocracy Trap, Daniel Markovits argues that meritocracy — a system set-up to expand opportunity, reduce inequality and end aristocracy — has become exactly what it was set up to combat: a mechanism for intergenerational wealth transfer that leaves everyone worse off in the process.Markovits isn’t only challenging a system; he is challenging the system that I (and probably most of you) have been part of for our entire lives. For better or worse, Meritocracy is the water we swim in. We implicitly accept its values, practices, arguments, and assumptions because they govern our everyday lives.This interview was a chance for me to exit the water. Maybe it will be for you as well.Book recommendations: The Rise of the Meritocracy by Michael YoungThe Race between Education and Technology by Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz"Technical Change, Inequality, and The Labor Market" (article) by Daron AcemogluWant to contact the show? Reach out at ezrakleinshow@vox.comNews comes at you fast. Join us at the end of your day to understand it. Subscribe to Today, ExplainedWe are conducting an audience survey to better serve you. It takes no more than five minutes, and it really helps out the show. Please take our survey here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Daniel Markovits from Yale discusses the illusion of meritocracy in American society, highlighting how luck and upbringing play crucial roles in success. He challenges the belief that hard work alone leads to achievement and explores the inequality perpetuated by the current system.

Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Markovits about the problems with meritocracy. They discuss the nature of inequality in the United States, the disappearance of the leisure class, the difference between labor and capital as sources of inequality, the way the education system amplifies inequality, the shrinking middle class, deaths of despair, differing social norms among the elite and the working class, the ethics of taxation, scales of philanthropy, universal basic income, the need for a wealth tax, the relationship between meritocracy and political polarization, the illusion of earned advantages, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe.

Leading US academic and author, Daniel Markovits, challenges the meritocratic idea in the West, arguing it perpetuates inequality. Discussions on the role of elite schools in supporting disadvantaged students, efforts of top universities to diversify applicants, and positive discrimination in India. Exploring economic inequalities, educational challenges, and the myth of equal opportunity in the US.