是时候反思“优绩主义”的误区了 It's time to reflect on the misconceptions of "meritocracy"

Author: 责任编辑：夏奕宁 Editor: Xia Yining

Length: • 1 min

September 12, 2023

Annotated by howie.serious

澎湃新闻记者王芊霓 The Paper journalist Wang Qianni

来源：澎湃新闻 Source: The Paper

出人意料的是，直播领域一哥的李佳琦也遭遇了风暴。在一次直播带货中，一位网友嘲讽某款眉笔“价格越来越贵”。这一言论激起了李佳琦的不满，他控制不住自己的情绪，回应道，⁠⁠不要乱说，眉笔始终保持价位79元，作为国货品牌，发展也十分不易。或许你们应该反思一下自己，为什么工资多年不涨？⁠⁠
Unexpectedly, Li Jiaqi, the top figure in the live streaming field, also encountered a storm. During a live broadcast selling session, a netizen mocked a certain eyebrow pencil for "getting more and more expensive." This comment aroused Li Jiaqi's dissatisfaction, and he couldn't control his emotions, responding, "Don't talk nonsense, the eyebrow pencil has always been priced at 79 yuan. As a domestic brand, its development is also very difficult. Perhaps you should reflect on yourself, why hasn't your salary increased for many years?"

这几句话掀起了巨大的争议。一天后，李佳琦含着泪在直播间公开道歉，他承认自己曾是一个普通的化妆品销售员，却忘记了初心，迷失了自我。这次道歉背后当然有公关团队的指导。李佳琦试图将自己还原为普通百姓，与普通消费者建立共情。然而，实际上，他早已成为精英阶层的一员，年入亿计，拥有人才引进身份在上海买下豪宅等等。
These few words sparked huge controversy. A day later, Li Jiaqi tearfully apologized publicly in the live broadcast room. He admitted that he was once an ordinary cosmetics salesperson but had forgotten his original intention and lost himself. Of course, this apology was guided by a PR team. Li Jiaqi tried to restore himself to an ordinary person and establish empathy with ordinary consumers. However, in reality, he has long become a member of the elite class, earning billions annually, having a talent introduction status, and buying a luxury house in Shanghai, among other things.

李佳琦引发争议的直播间发言 Li Jiaqi's controversial remarks in the live broadcast room

⁠⁠李佳琦财富的奇迹当然离不开他个人的努力，但他将成功完全归结于个人的努力，陷入了“优绩主义”的误区。当李佳琦质问对面消费者：“找找你们自己的问题，是不是工资没涨？你们是否认真工作？”时，暴露出他的精英心态，俨然一位“优绩主义”的狂热追随者。
The miracle of Li Jiaqi's wealth certainly cannot be separated from his personal efforts, but attributing his success entirely to personal effort falls into the trap of "meritocracy." When Li Jiaqi questioned the consumer on the other side: "Look at your own problems, hasn't your salary increased? Are you working seriously?" it exposed his elite mentality, clearly a fervent follower of "meritocracy."⁠⁠

在桑德尔的《精英的傲慢》一书中，揭示了“优绩主义”让人误以为成功完全依赖个人的努力和奋斗，只要努力就能成功。然而，这显然不符合事实。就拿李佳琦的成功来说，他之所以能成为网络直播界的领军人物，是因为巧妙地抓住了电商直播的风潮，拥有俊俏的外貌，并以口红作为进入市场的契机吸引粉丝。正是在这些“幸运”的加持下，他的努力才能获得成功。
In Sandel's book "The Tyranny of Merit," it reveals that "meritocracy" makes people mistakenly believe that success relies entirely on personal effort and hard work, and that as long as you work hard, you can succeed. However, this is obviously not the case. Take Li Jiaqi's success, for example. The reason he became a leading figure in the online live streaming industry is that he cleverly seized the trend of e-commerce live streaming, had a handsome appearance, and used lipstick as an entry point to attract fans. It is with these "lucky" factors that his efforts could lead to success.

如果他对自己的成功有真实的认知，就不会质疑消费者的工资是否涨得够多取决于他们工作的努力程度。他应该清楚，影响成功与否的因素很多都不是个体所能决定的（比如性别、地域、健康状况、天赋、家庭背景、人生机遇等），这些“运气”与个人关系并不密切，但却在很大程度上影响着我们是否能够进入大学、选择什么专业以及能否取得成功。
If he had a true understanding of his own success, he would not question whether consumers' wages are rising enough depending on how hard they work. He should be aware that many factors influencing success are beyond individual control (such as gender, region, health status, talent, family background, life opportunities, etc.). These "luck" factors are not closely related to the individual but significantly affect whether we can enter college, choose a major, and achieve success.

桑德尔的观点是，优绩主义会加剧赢家与输家之间的不平等，成为耻辱和怨恨的源泉。李佳琦的翻车和掉粉，反映了我们的社会评价体系的纠错能力，年轻人越来越清醒，他们意识到优绩主义对自身的洗脑，明白个别个人成功故事已不再代表普遍规律。他们可以接受他人的幸运和成功，但无法容忍成功者对失败者的嘲笑和羞辱。李佳琦在成功后继续为“消费主义”代言无可厚非，毕竟那是他的职责所在。⁠⁠然而，当他作为精英群体的一员站在高处，无法抑制地讥笑那些失败者，当他忘记了自己的幸运，忘记了是消费者的喜爱成就了他的今天，也忘记了是这个时代给予他起飞的机会时，他的翻车是一种必然。正如《精英的傲慢》中预言的那样，幸运如李佳琦们，也很难对自己拥有好运的事实感到满足。⁠⁠
Sandel's view is that meritocracy exacerbates inequality between winners and losers, becoming a source of shame and resentment. Li Jiaqi's downfall and loss of followers reflect our society's ability to correct its evaluation system. Young people are becoming increasingly aware; they realize the brainwashing effect of meritocracy on themselves and understand that individual success stories no longer represent universal rules. They can accept others' luck and success but cannot tolerate the mockery and humiliation of failures by the successful. It is understandable for Li Jiaqi to continue endorsing "consumerism" after his success, as it is his duty. However, when he, as a member of the elite, stands on high ground and cannot help but mock those who fail, when he forgets his own luck, forgets that it was the consumers' love that made him successful, and forgets that it was this era that gave him the opportunity to take off, his downfall becomes inevitable. As predicted in "The Arrogance of the Elite," even the fortunate like Li Jiaqi find it hard to be satisfied with their good fortune.

⁠⁠在一个健康的社会，成功的含义应该是多元的，只要通过辛勤劳动获得报酬的劳动者都应该获得工作的尊严。能否赚钱、能否消费也不应该成为一个人去反思自己的理由。
In a healthy society, the meaning of success should be diverse, and all workers who earn their pay through hard work should be granted the dignity of their labor. The ability to make money or consume should not be a reason for a person to reflect on themselves.⁠⁠

校对：施鋆 Proofreader: Shi Jun