Top American universities are compared to enormous hedge funds, with massive endowments and a smaller share of the population being educated. The not-for-profit status and tax benefits they receive amount to a significant public subsidy. The conventional path of fairer admissions to non-elite backgrounds is seen as wrong, as the rich always win due to the resources they invest in their children's education.
Most of us are taught hard work and talent are the keys to getting ahead. Turns out it’s not so easy. In his new book, “The Meritocracy Trap,” Yale professor Daniel Markovits says meritocracy isn’t leveling the playing field. Instead, it’s a pretense for concentrating privilege and intensifying inequality. He tells us the time has come to reinvent higher education, redesign the workplace, and reimagine meritocracy so it actually works for everyone.