谁是精英?何谓优绩?——反思桑德尔的优绩主义批判

Who is the elite?What is merit?--Review on Michael Sandel’s The Tyranny of Merit

桑德尔在新著《精英的傲慢》中对优绩主义提出了诸多批评,但是这些批评并不能挫败优绩主义。优绩主义是一种理想理论,桑德尔基于当前美国社会的现实批评优绩主义并不能对它构成威胁。桑德尔保留了对运气的承诺使它对优绩主义的批评不彻底;同时他也没有成功地证明优绩主义必然会腐蚀公民情感、破坏公民团结。桑德尔的批判重心最后倒向了自由主义,但对自由主义的批判并不必然蕴含着对优绩主义的批判。

Sandel provides a number of criticisms of meritocracy in his new book The Tyranny of Merit,but these criticisms cannot completely defeat meritocracy.Meritocracy in fact is an ideal theory,Sandel’s criticisms based on the reality of American society could not pose a real threat to it.Sandel’s commitment to luck leads to the halfway of the criticism of meritocracy.At the same time,he also fails to prove that meritocracy is bound to erode citizen’s affections and undermine citizen’s solidarity.Unfortunately,Sandel’s criticizing focus finally shifts to liberalism.In my view,the criticism of liberalism does not necessarily imply the criticism of meritocracy.