Tres visiones de la excelencia: a propósito de The Tyranny of Merit de Michael Sandel
Abstract
This paper asks about the idea of excellence in democratic societies in light of a critical review of Michael Sandel's latest work, The Tyranny of Merit. I propose that Sandel's relative silence on excellence should not be interpreted as suggesting that excellence is antithetical to democracy when, in fact, it is absolutely necessary to it. Excellence, when understood from a non-meritocratic-economic perspective, is the engine of creativity, of criticism and discussion, of change, elements without which democracy stagnates in a status quo that ends up reifying the majority opinion, crushing difference and the right to dissent. Likewise, I suggest that the thought of Alexis de Tocqueville integrates, on the one hand, the Christian notion of excellence as donation and dedication for the common good and, on the other, Nietzsche's critique of modernity, demanding a type of excellence that restores the sublime to its place in democratic societies.
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