You call this book "a prayer for the untalented." What does that mean?
When both conservatives and liberals discuss a just society, they tend to use language like "everyone should get what they deserve" or "everyone should be able to maximize their own potential." That they should not be held back by outside factors that we consider illegitimate, like how rich their parents are. My position in the book is, why do we stop there?
In other words, if your natural talent is something that you have incomplete control over, then that's no more of a natural or just reason to restrict someone from living the good life than anything else. I want us to peel back that onion one more level and look at those who just lack natural talent in things that happen to be marketable in today's economy and ask, "Why should they suffer?"
You wrote that the conservative point of view is focused on grit. Something like, "grit will get you through hardship and toward success." And you wrote that the liberal point of view is focused on opportunity and equity.
In the book, you say sometimes it just doesn't matter. Some kids just don't have what it takes to succeed at school. Why do you think people can't accept that? What makes it so controversial?
Conservatives tend to really be invested in this notion of the self-made man. They want to believe that what they have, they have because they've earned it. In order to preserve that belief, you have to minimize the influence of factors that are out of your control.
Liberals want to preserve a sort of naive vision of human equality. Of course, I believe in human equality, but I believe in equality of dignity, equality of rights, and political equality. But I don't believe that everyone is equally good at all things. And it's important to say that part of what people are trying to preserve is an economy where what is valued at what time is a somewhat arbitrary distinction.
There was a time in human affairs when just being a big strong guy made you someone who was able to secure more for yourself and other people. If you were someone who was able to be a really effective laborer, if you were someone who was able to haul a lot of wood, if you were someone who was able to be physically imposing on a battlefield — those talents were things that were highly sought after and resulted in a high level of compensation. Now, a person like that is just as likely to be unemployed as he is to be someone who is doing well in the economy. And in fact, the jobs that really depend upon your physical attributes are ones that — with the exception of professional athletics — tend to be low-paying.
We can't underestimate the fact that liberals tend to talk a really good game about the injustices of the economy, but a lot of the liberals who do that talking are people who have succeeded in this economy. And so to a degree that they don't like to admit, they have a vested interest in preserving the economy as it stands.