How Meritocracy's Luster Tarnishes The American Dream

The American Dream says hard work will lead to a better life. But Harvard professor Micheal Sandel says climbing the ladder of success is getting harder in the United States, because the rungs on the ladder are growing further apart. He says inequality is deeper and upward mobility has stalled — and that’s a failure of the meritocracy, the governing elites, a group desperate to hold on to status and wealth as evidenced by recent college admission scandals. Elliot Gerson, executive vice president at the Aspen Institute, speaks with Sandel about his latest book, “The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good.”