The Rise and Fall of European Meritocracy

When you can’t understand why people behave in a certain way, the easiest thing to do is to convince yourself that people do not know what they are doing. This is what European political, business and news media leaders have done... difficult to understand the rage against the meritocratic elites best symbolized by the well-trained, competent civil servants in Brussels...
Michael Young... coined the term “meritocracy,” ... the first to explain that ... a meritocratic society would be a disaster... a society of selfish and arrogant winners, and angry and desperate losers... a loss of political community...
People trust their leaders not only because of their competence but also because of their courage and commitment...leaders will remain ... rather than being helicoptered to the emergency exit.... populists promise not competence but intimacy... to re-establish the bond between the elites and the people.