The problem is, they really are a meritocracy.
Anyone with any sort of talent and drive can join them and get rich. This sucks potential leaders out of the middle and lower classes, leaving them stuck at the bottom.
Capitalism is a highly successful form of economic organization, but it can have negative social consequences.
Yes. There are rewards to being selfish. But those rewards are hollow.
Capitalism, like any economic system, is imperfect. But that does not mean you scrap it. You have laws that protect individuals from the greed of others.
Just as we have rules for our capitalistic economy, we also have to have rules for our elites. They have to be smacked down from time to time to remind them not to get above their raising. I think that is what we are going through right now in this country. We are not going to let these elites change the rules of our society to suit themselves. We will remind them where they came from and who is raising the children.
The Kennedy family, John Kerry, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Michael Moore, Alex Baldwin,
A MERITocracy, how does that work again?
It's not only class, but region: In rural or semi-rural areas, the smarter folk are also sucked away from their hometowns so there are fewer competent regional leaders to challenge or reform the leadership in big cities and the two coasts. Somebody I was reading the other day claims Lasch makes just these point in this book. Having read Lasch's book a while back, I can't remember for sure. Definitely a worthy read.
Christopher Shannon, a former student of Lasch, has attracted my attention recently. Anybody read his books?