#694 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Wednesday June 28)
Good morning,
MAKING DECISIONS BASED UPON OUTCOMES, RATHER THAN MERIT
We have to work hard to break down the societal barriers to equal opportunity. We need to do what we can to create a level playing field for college admissions, jobs, and in myriad other situations. That said, do we base everything on representation? Must every outcome work out to the same percentage representation in each profession? Do we provide advantages—irrespective of merit—to disadvantaged minorities? I think the tie goes to the runner but we ought not become a society of quotas—whatever one’s good intention. Jonah Goldberg asks interesting questions:
“Now, I understand that politics is different from other vocations. Representation matters to voters in the way it doesn’t—or shouldn’t—to medical patients or employers. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. In a democracy, voters can take into account anything they think is relevant, and inclusiveness is a perfectly defensible value. But there’s a difference between saying that representation—ethnic, sexual, cultural, religious, whatever—is important and saying that it’s more important than other qualifications and concerns.”
Merit has been getting a bum rap these days. Merit is related to aptitude, which is related to education, but also willingness to engage in the learning and to work hard. Those with means will be able to send their kids to test prep courses, and perhaps tutors in their challenging courses. But in the end, educators will judge them on their knowledge, their ability to assimilate information, and critically think and criticize. There will be many places during the course of one’s career when one will be met with challenges to perform to high standards. At some point, diversity can only be a portion of the goal.
I would not want to attend a concert with a bunch of high school level musicians. I find the beauty of a concerto performed by a violinist or a pianist at the top of their game to be sublime. In the world of orchestras, merit is determined by blind auditions and challenges of musician against musician. In sports, it doesn’t matter who your parents were or how many classes you took. You can either perform or not.
And while we speak about the importance of merit in academia, let’s add to the measure of that merit the willingness to confront ideas different from one’s own, to exhibit and practice empathy, and intellectual flexibility and ability to evolve with new data and circumstances. It is time we recognize that standards are important—and that we begin to reevaluate the standards we employ and the weighting we should place on each.
I think this is particularly important in ensuring we have the most qualified people in the classroom, the courtroom and, most importantly, the operating room.
Have a great day,
Glenn