Symposia: Meritocracy Trap

LPE Originals

Labor vs. Capital: Continuing the Meritocracy Trap Debate

By Andrew Hart, Daniel Markovits, Marshall Steinbaum

This post, an exchange between Andrew Hart, Marshall Steinbaum, and Daniel Markovits, continues their debate from our March 2020 series discussing The Meritocracy Trap.

LPE Originals

Are We Prisoners of Technological Fate?

By Daniel Markovits

The Meritocracy Trap’s account of the relationships among elite education, skill-biased technical change, and rising economic inequality is, in my mind, one of the book’s most important arguments, even as it is undoubtedly one of the least discussed. I’m therefore delighted and grateful that Gordon chose to focus his attention on these matters.

LPE Originals

Are the Rich Rentiers or Superordinate Workers?

By Daniel Markovits

This is the third post in our series discussing The Meritocracy Trap by Daniel Markovits. Click here to read all posts in the series. I am grateful to the LPE Blog for hosting this exchange about The Meritocracy Trap. Today’s post will take up Hart’s and Steinbaum’s post and focus on facts, and tomorrow’s will turn to Gordon’s post…

LPE Originals

Guiding Innovation’s Hand: Industrial Policy Against Inequality

By Jeff Gordon

This post turns our attention to The Meritocracy Trap’s argument that industrial policy contributed to the technological innovations that over-reward elite workers at the expense of the poor and working class, and that industrial policy will be essential to build a fairer economy.

LPE Originals

Liberate the Meritocrats—From Their Bosses

By Andrew Hart, Marshall Steinbaum

Marshall Steinbaum and Andrew Hart argue that Professor Markovits’ The Meritocracy Trap omits capitalists from the story in part by relying too heavily on the flawed theory of human capital.