![]() ![]() But Sandel correctly observes that the rhetoric of rising does not tell us the whole story about the tyranny of merit (p. The meritocratic ideal therefore generates hubris in the successful, and resentment and humiliation in the rest. For the successful, the rhetoric of rising affirms that they are indeed worthy of their success, that they are the deserved ‘winners’ in society. In particular, Sandel notes how the ‘rhetoric of rising’ gives expression to the aspirational sentiments of self-mastery and desert, with its promise that ‘you can make it if you try’ compounding the dejection felt by those who have not ‘made it’. The so-called ‘tyranny of merit’ arises from the interplay between meritocracy’s harsh and aspirational faces. How, then, should we understand the recent surge of populist movements within Western democracies? And what can be done in aid of repair? 2017), but the literature in this area affords little guidance for how we might respond to the phenomenon. Not only are its causes a source of lively debate (Hawkins et al. ![]() Populism has proven particularly challenging in this respect. ![]() Yet while accounts broadly agree on the principal threats to contemporary democracies, they diverge on two important issues: the cause(s) of these challenges, and the action required to reverse the erosion of democratic norms. Capitol Riot and state-led de-democratization in Poland, Hungary and Hong Kong have renewed academic debate on democratic backsliding and breakdown. Brexit, President Trump’s tenure and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Even those residing in established democracies over the past decade have cause to acknowledge the fragility of democratic institutions. Democracies are not immune to challenge, nor democratic norms to subversion. ![]()
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