Meritocracy revisited

I've been thinking again about meritocracy, prompted in part by reading Adrian Wooldridge's bracing book The Aristocracy of Talent. From one angle, the Paula Principle is exactly about meritocracy: it deals with our failure to reward talent and competence fairly and appropriately. So it's been very welcome to have had access to such a broadly-informed and readable volume. The notion of meritocracy is itself contested, as shown by a recent Intelligence Squared debate between Wooldridge and the Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel. Sandel's view is that merit is fine but meritocracy is not: it is a system of rule that allows those who rise to the top to justify their winnings.…
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Peggy Seeger and crossovers

Forgive the self-indulgence, but I have to share a coincidence. Bear with me - there is more than one PP-related point to it. I was walking yesterday on Hampstead Heath, listening as I occasionally do to Michael Berkeley's programme of musical interviews, Private Passions. The guest this week was Peggy Seeger, the folk singer. At 86 she was sharp, full of humour and very open. Towards the end of the programme, Peggy talked about one of her most famous songs, "I want to be an engineer". She described its origins: she was doing the accounts when her partner Ewen MacColl came down and said they needed a song, urgently; Peggy…
Read More

Meritocracy revisited

I've been thinking again about meritocracy, prompted in part by reading Adrian Wooldridge's bracing book The Aristocracy of Talent. From one angle, the Paula Principle is exactly about meritocracy: it deals with our failure to reward talent and competence fairly and appropriately. So it's been very welcome to have had access to such a broadly-informed and readable volume. The notion of meritocracy is itself contested, as shown by a recent Intelligence Squared debate between Wooldridge and the Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel. Sandel's view is that merit is fine but meritocracy is not: it is a system of rule that allows those who rise to the top to justify their winnings.…
Read More

Peggy Seeger and crossovers

Forgive the self-indulgence, but I have to share a coincidence. Bear with me - there is more than one PP-related point to it. I was walking yesterday on Hampstead Heath, listening as I occasionally do to Michael Berkeley's programme of musical interviews, Private Passions. The guest this week was Peggy Seeger, the folk singer. At 86 she was sharp, full of humour and very open. Towards the end of the programme, Peggy talked about one of her most famous songs, "I want to be an engineer". She described its origins: she was doing the accounts when her partner Ewen MacColl came down and said they needed a song, urgently; Peggy…
Read More