American Idols
This chapter focuses on famous people. It shows that American culture does not take for granted the role of merit in achievement, even in the cases of successful public figures. The chapter asserts that even in instances of extreme achievement — the paragons, the winners, the people whose merit should be most obvious and who have long been understood as symbols of meritocracy — American culture tends to debate or evaluate the role of merit in success rather than accept it. It explores how we argue about whether people like Carly Fiorina deserve to be where they are and ask what our uncertainty about the Big Shots means for the rest of us. The chapter also reveals that American stories do not take meritocracy for granted but rather ask in individual cases whether a person, even an extremely successful person, ended up where he or she deserves to be. It emphasizes that American considerations of star athletes are shot through with uncertainty about deservedness.