Twilight of the Elites

Starred review from April 30, 2012
Calling the decade of the 2000s the “fail decade,” Hayes, editor at large of the Nation and host of MSNBC’s Up w/ Chris Hayes, highlights the implosion of trusted American institutions—Enron, Wall Street, Congress, the Catholic Church, and Major League Baseball—tracing the origins of the present crisis of authority to our elite meritocracy. While the WASP establishment emphasized “humility, prudence and lineage,” the current meritocracy celebrates raw ambition, achievement, and brains, and it’s learned to embrace the alarming inequality that keeps its members near the top. The result, Hayes notes, is a society with extremely high and rising inequality, without social mobility, presided over by overachievers who enjoy tremendous financial and political clout, yet face no actual punishment for failing at their duties. The lively and well-informed Hayes warns that if we ignore our extreme inequality, those at the top become more prone to corruption, social isolation, and failure. As examples, he pinpoints the devastating effects of social distance that led to recent scandals and catastrophes: the fundamental gap between priests and the parishioners whose children were victimized; the disproportionate distance between the civilian elite and our soldiers; and during the financial crisis, the distance between those who were bailed out and those were not. Offering feasible proposals for change, this cogent social commentary urges us to reconstruct our institutions so we can once again trust them. Agent: Will Lippincott, Lippincott Massie McQuilkin.

Starred review from May 1, 2012
In this forcefully written debut, Nation editor-at-large and MSNBC host Hayes examines some of the consequences of accumulating institutional failures. Whether discussing the dysfunctions of government, Fortune 500 companies, Catholic Bishops or Major League Baseball, the author traces common features to a "broad and devastating crisis of authority" resulting from a breakdown in trust. Hayes examines the relationship between trust and authority and shows that what we actually know usually depends on others, ultimately on a source of institutional authority such as a political party. "We don't acknowledge that our most fundamental, shared beliefs about how society should operate are deeply elitist," writes the author. "We have accepted that there will be some class of people that will make the decisions for us, and if we just manage to find the right ones, then all will go smoothly." Hayes uses the term elite differently than the manner employed by Fox News or Sarah Palin. He defines it as a "small, powerful and connected" group with "three main sources of power: money, platform, and networks." Of course, money can confer power and buy the other forms of influence, so what was once trusted may no longer be considered either competent or as acting in good faith. Many policymakers put forth education as the answer. Hayes insists that it is no longer enough, arguing that equality of opportunity must be complemented with equality of outcomes, through tax reforms and other measures. A provocative discussion of the deeper causes of our current discontent, written with verve and meriting wide interest.

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May 15, 2012

Hayes (editor at large, The Nation), host of MSNBC's Up w/ Chris Hayes, here presents a valuable analysis of what is wrong with the United States. In a well-researched and well-written presentation, he argues convincingly that the nation's elite have botched just about everything. But more importantly, Hayes makes a solid case that the existing social order, a meritocracy geared to reward the best and the brightest, is doomed to failure. Yet after Hayes makes these important arguments, his solutions fall short. He calls for taxing the rich and for a vast redistribution of wealth to create not only equality of opportunity in the United States, but "equality of outcomes." He ignores the realities of the deeply divided American political landscape and pins his hopes on the radicalization of the upper middle class, with their ire directed at the wealthiest. VERDICT This is more wishful thinking on the part of the author than a valuable roadmap to show the way for the country to solve its problems, but it will appeal to social theorists and political news junkies, particularly those on the left of the political spectrum. Purchase accordingly. [See Prepub Alert, 12/16/11.]--Robert Bruce Slater, Stroudsburg, PA

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