- We get elites wrong, because we assume we should be ruled and we just need to find the right people to rule us
- Meritocracy skews our notions of elitism
- “We rule not ‘by the people’ but ‘by the cleverest people’.”
- Unequal outcomes subvert mobility
- Bad money pushes out good money
- (Players on steroids push out those who do not)
- “Inside jokes” and alternative language is a sign of misdeeds
- “We cannot have a Just society that applies the principle of accountability to the powerless and the principle of forgiveness to the powerful. This is the America in which we currently reside.”
- We affiliate with a political party to offload policy decision burdens
- “Bipartisan” is a way to say, “everyone agrees with this”
- We are just in proximity, but being close can blind us
- “We are not in the mess in the world today because of too many [information] leaks.”
- Change through the Media is easier when there are fewer of them
- Technology has expanded the reach of the Elite… If everyone can download the top soprano [singer], why would you listen to the second best
- “Freedom of the press is for those who own one”
- Slave labor stunted the growth of the South (there is no need to innovate if you have free labor)
- Elite distribution is growing
- Focusing on merit hides the power of the network; a hidden network makes the elites feel they deserved what they have.
- Protective egotism is when we pump ourselves up as a self-defense
- Smarts are the new measure of merit
- Smarts are not enough, we need wisdom and empathy
- Feedback is critical to successful systems
- “You ignore the people in the lower decks at your own peril.”
- We need to worry about equality in opportunity, including equality to access
- (It is not just that everyone should be able to take the test, everyone should have access to the same prep tools)
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