Mugged by Unreality
20th September 2019
Liberals who view our meritocracy as a fraud aren’t entirely wrong about their ability to game the system at various stages. It is possible, I take it, to leverage “privilege” to get one’s three year-old into a fancy pre-school program. Indeed, as has been confirmed recently, it’s possible through bribery, in effect, to get one’s 18 year-old into a fancy college (although it’s not clear how widespread this practice is).
Where these liberals (and not just liberals) go wrong, I think, is in hugely overestimating the advantage they bestow on their kids through manipulation. Actual merit will have a vastly greater say in determining ultimate success — success as adults — than will successful parental manipulation of various admissions processes.