PoliticselectionsPresidential Elections
Political Philosopher Michael Sandel Analyzes Trump's Rise and Meritocracy
The ascent of Donald Trump, a political phenomenon that continues to define and disrupt the American political landscape, finds one of its most profound and unsettling explanations not in the typical electoral post-mortems but in the rigorous critique of meritocracy advanced by political philosopher Michael Sandel. Sandel, the Anne T.and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University whose seminal course on justice has captivated a global audience of tens of millions, recently underscored this thesis upon receiving the prestigious 2025 Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture, an accolade often likened to a Nobel for philosophical contribution.His analysis cuts to the core of a national crisis, arguing that the raw, populist resentment harnessed by Trump’s campaign was not an anomaly but a direct, almost inevitable, consequence of a decades-long societal embrace of a corrosive meritocratic ideal. This ideal, Sandel contends, has created a toxic and unsustainable political climate where those with university degrees and professional success have been encouraged to believe their status is entirely a product of their own virtue and effort, fostering a hubristic attitude among the winners and a deep-seated, often humiliating, sense of dismissal and disrespect among those left behind by globalization and technological change.This dignitary injury—the lack of recognition for the work and contributions of those without a college diploma—proved far more politically potent than purely economic grievances. It created a fertile ground for a politics of backlash, where Trump’s rhetoric, however crude, effectively tapped into this wellsprung of anger against a credentialed elite perceived as looking down upon ordinary citizens.Drawing a historical parallel, one might see echoes of the populist upheavals that have periodically shaken Western democracies when the gap between the governing classes and the governed becomes a chasm of cultural and social misunderstanding, much like the discontent that fueled movements from the People's Party of the 1890s to the Brexit referendum. Sandel’s framework suggests that the ongoing crisis of legitimacy in American institutions, from Congress to the media, is inextricably linked to this meritocratic sorting, which has eroded the sense of a shared common life and civic belonging.The consequence, as we continue to witness in the stark polarization of the electorate, is a political arena no longer focused on debating how to achieve the common good, but rather one defined by the searing cultural war between those who have been validated by the system and those who feel justifiably aggrieved by its verdicts. Without a fundamental rethinking of the meaning of success and a renewed civic project aimed at valuing contributions beyond academic and professional accolades, the conditions that propelled Trump’s rise will remain a volatile and defining feature of the American political experiment for the foreseeable future, challenging the very foundations of a cohesive democratic society.
#lead focus news
#Michael Sandel
#Donald Trump
#meritocracy
#US-China rivalry
#political philosophy
#2025 Berggruen Prize
