The Economist - USA (2020-11-13)

The EconomistNovember 14th 2020 Books & arts 73

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herancourofAmericanpolitics,say
thesetwodistinguishedscholars,isa
symptomofanevendeepermalaise.Rob-
ertPutnamchartsa riseineconomicin-
equalities,culturaltribalismandfrayedso-
cialconnectionssincethe1960s—when,he
recalls,thespiritofsolidarityandreform
wasbycontraststrong.MichaelSandelfo-
cusesonthemeritocraticrat-raceandits
justifications,whichcreate,inhiswords,
“hubrisamongthesuccessfulandresent-
mentamongthedisadvantaged”.
Both blamethe ills theyidentify on
widespread acceptanceofegotistical go-
gettingata costtocommonpurpose.Their
bleak picture of private indifference to
publicwelfarepromptsanequallysweep-
ingsolution.Americaneedsnothingless,
theythink,thana recoveryofcommunity
andrededicationtothecommongood.
MrPutnam,a politicalscientist,iswell-
knownfor“BowlingAlone”(2000),which
reporteda dropofclubbabilityina nation
ofjoiners.WrittenwithShaylynRomney
Garrett,“TheUpswing”isa reprisethatan-
swerscriticsandlamentsa yetbroaderre-
treattoprivateconcerns.It offersa histori-
calaccountoftrendsinpubliccommit-
mentover 120 years.
Thenarrativearcissimple.Adog-eat-
dogGildedAgeattheendofthe19thcen-
turypromptedevergreatersocialengage-
ment and reform in three stages—Progres-
sivism, the New Deal and the 1960s. Soon,
however, dog-eat-dogism returned and is
now again uppermost. To support that
analysis, a mass of survey data and statis-
tics is mapped onto what Mr Putnam calls
“I-we-I” curves, which show a rise and fall
in economic equality, political co-opera-
tion, social solidarity and a sense of shared
American culture.
“The Upswing” ranges widely, yet its
scrupulous survey-mining and curve-fit-
ting is not wholly persuasive, or indeed
necessary. Up on the latest research and
impeccably open to counterargument, Mr
Putnam tends to take away with one study
what he has just offered with another. A
heartfelt communitarian essay, “What ails
America”, without the social-science appa-
ratus, might have been just as convincing.
Mr Sandel’s focus is tighter. His target is

meritocratic society and the ideal it aims to

realise, equality of opportunity. For true

egalitarians, who want fairer outcomes, a

uniform starting line has always seemed a

fudge. To some rugged conservatives, pro-

mising equal opportunity is necessary lip-

service to unmeetable popular demands.

MrSandel,a politicalphilosopher,endsup

onthefence. He is notan out-and-out

egalitarian,butnordoeshedismisshopes

forsomedegreeofgenuinecivicequality.

He recognises that gauges of perfor-

mance and success often measure the

wrongthings—ormeasuretherightthings

badly.Hiscritiqueofover-relianceonpa-

percredentials in hiringand university

placements is telling. (Similar flaws of

ranking mania in medicine, policing,

schoolingandthearmedforceswereex-

pertlyexposedinJerryMuller’s“TheTy-

rannyofMetrics”.)MrSandel’slargercon-

cern,however,isnotwhetherachievement

isproperlycalibratedbutwhetheritsre-

wards are rightly merited. As he says, that

ethical question runs back to theological

disputes about the arbitrariness or earna-

bility of God’s grace. These days, free-mar-

keteers and redistributionists tussle over

whether and how to offset the lottery of tal-

ent and energy that underlies supposedly

meritedrewards.

LikeMrPutnam’s,thesolutionsMrSan-

delsuggestscallforprofoundchangesin

prevailingattitudes: acknowledgmentof

luckintheshare-outofrewards,recogni-

tionthatallworkhasdignity,newcommit-

menttothepublicgood,andreadinessto

arguesuchmattersoutina healthier,more

deliberative democracy. A sceptic may

sharethepair’sconcernsaboutAmerican

societyyetwonderif,insucha vigorously

competitive,capitalist place, those pro-

foundchangesinthinkingareprobable.

Andwhether, given how longthe argu-

mentsoverunmeriteddisadvantagehave

lasted,theyarelikelytoendsoon.^7

American society

All for one

The Upswing.By Robert Putnam and
Shaylyn Romney Garrett. Simon & Schuster;
480 pages; $32.50. Swift Press; £25
The Tyranny of Merit.By Michael Sandel.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 288 pages; $28.
Allen Lane; £20

I

nthesummerof 1977 aninternational

film crew descended on the sleepy Greek

island of Lefkada, temporarily casting it

into chaos. Billy Wilder (pictured), the leg-

endary director of “Sunset Boulevard” and

“Some Like It Hot”, had chosen it as the lo-

cation for key scenes in what would be his

penultimate movie, “Fedora”. In Jonathan

Coe’smischievousandinventive re-enact-

ment, this film about a reclusive, fading

star is, at heart, as much about the end of

Hollywood’s Golden Age as the ephemeral

nature of youth and fame.

Mr Coe’s novels typically fuse politics,

satire and the passage of time. This one

draws heavily on factual accounts of Wild-

er and his associates but places a fictitious

outsider at the heart of the story. Calista is

an aspiring young composer brought up by

her bohemian parents in a shabby flat in

Hollywood fiction

Ready for his close-up

Mr Wilder and Me.By Jonathan Coe.

Viking; 256 pages; £16.99

A novel reimagines the life and work of a legendary film director

Nobody’s perfect