In a shocking paradox, social critic David Brooks argues that America’s educated elite, despite their good intentions, are largely responsible for creating the very system that birthed figures like Donald Trump. According to Brooks, the elites built a society so broken and isolating that it sparked a populist rage which is now tearing the country apart. But how did these well-intentioned individuals get it so catastrophically wrong?
The Myth of Meritocracy
We’ve all heard it before: the ultimate American dream is that if you work hard, you'll succeed. The smartest individuals rise to the top, benefiting everyone. This is what we call a meritocracy. But what if this isn't true? What if the people at the top wrote the rules of the game to ensure they would always win?
David Brooks contends that the modern meritocracy is actually a resentment-generating machine. The system, he argues, reduces human worth to academic success—specifically, school smarts. But school smarts and life smarts are entirely different. Success in school is about individual achievement, whereas success in life is a team sport—it's about collaboration, empathy, and resilience. Yet, we've built an entire society that prizes the wrong metric.
The Rise of a New Aristocracy
What Brooks points out is startling: instead of building a true meritocracy, America has created a hereditary aristocracy that pretends to be one. Children from wealthy families have the advantages that children from poorer families simply don’t. By the 8th grade, children from affluent households are already up to four grade levels ahead of their peers from lower-income families. As a result, these children are far more likely to enter elite universities. In fact, they are 77 times more likely to gain admission than their less privileged counterparts.
This isn’t just about money—it's about a massive social divide. People with just a high school degree die 8 to 9 years sooner than those with a college degree. And in some areas, this gap is even wider. The divide is also social: those without higher education are more likely to have children outside of marriage and experience profound isolation. The educated elite, on the other hand, live in a bubble, forming a new caste system based solely on education.
The Gated Community of the Mind
One of Brooks' most striking critiques is the isolation of America’s educated elite. They live in exclusive neighborhoods, often clustered in a handful of booming cities like San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Austin. In these bubbles, they are surrounded by like-minded individuals who think, vote, and work the same way. A 2021 study found that this elite class is the most socially isolated group in the nation.
This cultural isolation has dire political consequences. The policies favored by the educated elite—such as those that boost the tech economy or promote aggressive free trade—often end up harming communities outside these bubbles. Factory workers and energy workers see their jobs disappear while tech professionals celebrate globalization. Brooks calls this phenomenon the "gated community of the mind." The elite’s ideas are reflected back to them constantly, while the struggles of the working class are either invisible or dismissed.
The Accidental Creation of Donald Trump
This isolation and division led directly to the rise of populist figures like Donald Trump. Despite coming from an elite background himself, Trump capitalized on anti-elitism. His appeal isn’t based on offering a positive vision for the country but on promising to dismantle the very institutions that the elite control. This paradox is at the heart of the populist revolt that is now shaking America’s political system.
Brooks argues that the elite, in their detachment and moral fragmentation, inadvertently created Trump. Politics has become the only arena where the forgotten majority can fight back against the cultural power of the few.
The Moral Crisis
Beyond money and politics, Brooks delves into a deeper issue—the moral crisis. For centuries, American society was held together by a shared set of moral beliefs, often linked to faith. These beliefs provided a framework for concepts like duty, honor, and service, giving leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. the moral authority to drive change. But the educated elite, obsessed with radical individualism, destroyed this shared moral foundation.
In place of a common moral language, the elite promoted the idea of "You do you," encouraging people to find their own truth and invent their own values. While this sounds liberating, Brooks contends that it has created a moral vacuum, a "black hole" that has sucked away the social fabric holding society together. This fragmentation has led to skyrocketing reports of unhappiness and loneliness, with some surveys showing that Americans with no close friends have quadrupled since 2000.
Brooks’ Solution: A Call for Change
So, what can be done? David Brooks doesn’t offer a doomsday scenario. He believes the same educated elite who created this broken system have the power to fix it. However, the solution isn’t what most people might expect.
First, Brooks advocates for a revolution in how we define merit. The current system is obsessed with SAT scores and academic achievement. But what if success wasn’t measured by standardized tests but by qualities like curiosity, empathy, resilience, and the ability to work well with others? He proposes that education systems should reward these human skills, turning away from the tyranny of school scores.
Second, Brooks calls for a revival of moral formation in society. This is not about forcing rigid dogma on people, but about rebuilding a sense of duty to one another. It’s about learning how to listen, disagree respectfully, forgive, and see the humanity in others—even in those we disagree with. Brooks argues that these basic social skills are essential for rebuilding connection in an increasingly fragmented society.
Lastly, Brooks emphasizes that the elite themselves must change. They need to engage with communities that have been left behind, not from a place of charity but with humility. This means listening to the anger of people who feel betrayed and acknowledging that their struggles are real.
A Call to Action
David Brooks’ critique of the modern meritocracy serves as a powerful reminder that the systems we’ve built are not permanent—they were created by people, and they can be unbuilt by people. The challenge is not just tearing down the old systems but having the courage to build something better in their place. A society that cherishes connection, character, and shared purpose rather than individual success.
It’s time to shift the focus from winning the game to playing it together. This means seeing each other more deeply, listening more carefully, and, in doing so, healing a broken America.
What do you think is the single biggest flaw in our modern idea of merit? And what is one small thing you could do in your own community to start fixing it? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and let’s start the conversation on how we can build a better society.
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