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Jo's avatar

Have you heard of the 2020 book "The Tyranny of Merit" by political philosopher Michael Sandel? I love how he dismantles the pervasive American idea that anyone can earn their way to success if they try hard enough. While there were a few gaps in the book (it's from a philosophical perspective, but he can't completely escape the influences of being an Ivy-league educated man), it was satisfying to see him articulate the obvious problems with a social attitude that ultimately blames people for their own disenfranchisement.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50364458-the-tyranny-of-merit

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Amy Johns's avatar

I also love Maintenance Phase— so much that I subscribe to their Patreon as well, and this episode about Rachel Hollis came with several small to middling epiphanies, the greatest of which when they share Rachel explaining that the only way she could get attention from her preoccupied and chaotic family was to be productive. Wham. That was also the case in my preoccupied and chaotic family— and I realize that’s the narrative I’ve carried into adulthood. I bet the childhood productivity=value equation is what fuels her adult belief about doing and producing and working (even if she isn’t doing the work and even if other problematic factors play in), and you’re right— it needs to stop.

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