meritocracy

Rule of the Competent

James Hankins joins the podcast to discuss his new book Political Meritocracy in Renaissance Italy: The Virtuous Republic of Francesco Patrizi of Siena. Continue Reading »

18 Sep 2023

Elite Grifters

by Julius Krein

Few of the 9.9 percent would sacrifice anything for an ideology—but a great many hope to raise money on one. Continue Reading »

20 Jan 2022

The system hasn’t failed; it has succeeded too well. Patrick Deneen said this about liberalism. Now Daniel Markovits is saying it about meritocracy. Markovits, a professor of law at Yale, argues that a system that once promoted social mobility has created a self-perpetuating class of elites. His . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Feb 2020

“Diversity” and Discrimination at Harvard

by Darel E. Paul

Harvard’s “holistic”—or what the college terms “whole-person”—review process is hurting Asian-American applicants. Continue Reading »

21 Jun 2018

Diversity and Meritocracy, Together

by R. R. Reno

Most of our elite universities have been rigorous about merit from their inceptions. What’s changed is what counts as merit. Continue Reading »

5 Apr 2018

Dying of Despair

by Aaron Kheriaty

On November 4, 2014, sixteen-year-old Cameron Lee, a popular, athletic, straight-A student at Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California, leapt in front of a commuter train. His suicide note provided no clear reason for his act; there were no apparent signs of mental illness, and he was . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Aug 2017

The Nationalism Muddle

by Pete Spiliakos

There are similarities between the post-nationalist left and the conventionally nationalist right, but they don’t have to do with globalism. They have to do with meritocracy. Continue Reading »

11 May 2017

Is God Still Dead?

by The Editors

The First Things Podcast, Episode 5. Also featuring: Book talk with Rusty Reno and “Stump the Editors.” Continue Reading »

12 Aug 2016