Tyranny of Merit

Samuel Goldman, at the The American Conservative, reviews the book Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, by Christopher Hayes, in Tyranny of Merit.

His conclusion is that:

Hayes mounts a powerful critique of the meritocratic elite that has overseen one of the most disastrous periods of recent history. He lapses into utopianism, however, when he suggests that we can do without elites altogether. Like the poor, elites will always be with us. As the word’s original meaning suggests, the question is how they ought to be chosen.

Goldman's perspective is that the unruly masses have always needed a master to keep them in line. He cannot conceive of fully formed human beings being able to select their own rulers and sit in judgement of them regularly. For Goldman, true participatory democracy is an utopian ideal.

What Goldman is worried about is the radicalisation of the so-called upper middle class where this utopian ideal may take root:

Yet Hayes is optimistic about the prospects for egalitarian reform. He places his hopes on a radicalized upper-middle class. As recently as a decade ago, people with graduate degrees and six-figure incomes could think of themselves as prospective members of the elite. While the income and influence of the very rich has zoomed ahead, however, the stagnation of the economy has left the moderately well-off at risk of proletarianization.

Emphasis Mine

This radicalisation is reflected in both the Tea Party and the Occupy Movement.

But, this proletarisation was predicted by Marx as a natural consequence of the development of Capitalism. The accumulation of riches by the Capitalists, for whom the elites work, was also predicted by Marx. And yet, people are surprised that it is happening.

The Tea Party and the Occupy Movement are not the same thing. The Tea Party is a proto-fascist movement in which the petite bourgeoise seeks to defend itself against proletarisation. And the Occupy Movement is a nascent movement that could lead to participatory democracy and the overthrow of Capitalism.