A Prophetic Warning for America's Declining Political Institutions

     Written by MSNBC journalist Christopher Hayes, The Twilight of the Elites: America after Meritocracy, points to the myriad of flaws that exist within American political life. More importantly, however, Hayes argues that it was the creation of a meritocracy that is the underlying cause of all the issues he describes in his writing. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a meritocracy is essentially a government in which power is granted on the basis of the ability of the individual. In other words, those most "qualified" are those who wield authority.

     In theory, the idea of a meritocracy doesn't seem so bad, Hayes admits. What's so wrong with having the people with the best education or professional experience being the ones who run our country? The issue however, according to Hayes, is that as this meritocracy has developed over the years it has created a growing divide between the elites who run our society and the masses. Indeed, to climb to the top of the political ladder in America now requires far more connections and, admittedly wealth, than it did even 50 years ago.

     Those in upper class families who have the most money are able to go to the best private schools with the best tutors, and are then able to go to top tier universities. The connections made at these prestigious academic institutions then extend into their careers, allowing these individuals to secure the best jobs, and gain more wealth for themselves, thereby continuing the cycle. Hayes focuses on the fact that these wealthy individuals can then use their connections and money to buy their way into political office or positions of economic importance, and as a result get to decide the way in which the rest of society operates.

     On the other hand, there are those who come from lower or even middle class homes, who are simply unable to compete with these generational elites, due to an overall lack of resources and opportunity. Yes, every now and then an inner city kid works their way into Harvard, or someone from a middle class family wins a spot in office, but by and large these instances are very rare (even though they are often used by elites to falsely claim that there is still "equal opportunity" in America). 

     The sad truth of the matter is that as this cycle continues, the gap between the wealthy and the masses will only continue to grow. As this happens, there forms a social disconnect between the people running our country and the average citizens who live beneath them, which has led to significant economic and political strife, and created anger on both the political left and right. 

     The most fascinating part of Twilight of the Elites is that it was originally published in 2012, but now serves as a sort of prophetic warning in retrospect. Hayes writes out of a context of societal frustration in the aftermath of the various political and economic disasters of the early 2000s, such as the endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the mass destruction of Hurricane Katrina, and the Great Recession. Hayes critiques both Presidents George W. Bush and Obama for their failures to truly ensure the well-being of the masses, and cites both as guilty for simply maintaining a status quo that only benefited the wealthy. 

     Hayes ends the book with a somewhat ironic foreshadow, stating that, as the title would suggest, America's meritocracy is, in fact, on the decline. Moreover, he asserts that the American people will only put up with being ignored for so long, and sooner or later an institutional upheaval will occur on both sides of the political spectrum. 

     Little did Hayes know at the time of writing this book, but he was entirely right, as witnessed in the 2016 elections and their aftermath. Populists rose up from the political right, grieved by the loss of manufacturing jobs to foreign competition, and the lack of economic support for American businesses that were slowly getting stamped out by large, multinational corporations. Similarly, on the left, socialism started to gain a large following, as minorities and other working-class families demanded welfare programs to support America's marginalized, who had been severely hurt by a lack of affordable healthcare, crippling student debt, and a general lack of equal opportunity. These grievances on both the left and the right led to the popularity of candidates not hailing from the traditional political establishment, such as President Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders. Hayes predicted a political upheaval, which certainly did occur, and will likely persist into the new decade.

     America's political institutions will only continue to decline as long as the disconnect between elites and the masses remains. A house divided cannot stand, and only time will tell how much longer the American people will tolerate neglect from the powers that be. As the 2020 election approaches, and in the midst of the turmoil of the Coronavirus pandemic, average citizens have only continued to make their voices heard, and one thing is for certain: our nation and world will never be the same. Now more than ever We, the People get to decide what a forming a more perfect union truly looks like.