Everyone's a Winner
Life in Our Congratulatory Culture
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- $22.99
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
Every kindergarten soccer player gets a trophy. Many high schools name dozens of seniors as valedictorians—of the same class. Cars sport bumper stickers that read "USA—Number 1." Prizes proliferate in every corner of American society, and excellence is trumpeted with ratings that range from "Academy Award winner!" to "Best Neighborhood Pizza!" In Everyone’s a Winner, Joel Best— acclaimed author of Damned Lies and Statistics and many other books—shines a bright light on the increasing abundance of status in our society and considers what it all means. With humor and insight, Best argues that status affluence fosters social worlds and, in the process, helps give meaning to life in a large society.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sociologist Best (The Stupidity Epidemic) takes on the idea of status abundance in contemporary society. "At the newsstand," he explains, "I can find magazines rating the best colleges, hospitals, high schools, employers, places to live..." to such an extent that "Several times each day, I encounter claims that someone has been designated excellent by somebody else." Best (no pun intended) examines the implications of "status inflation" from several perspectives, including in the proliferation of the "hero" designation, the U.S. News college ranking system, and in K-12 education, there discussing the different approaches most of us take when considering our often failing school systems: "opportunity" advocates (concerned with racial/economic divides), and the more staunch "mastery tradition." The former argue for more recognition to boost self-esteem; the latter are concerned that rewarding sub-par students creates unrealistic expectations. Best presents both sides with clarity and vigor and is clever but never condescending. "Status affluence suggests that contemporary society has found more ways to assure more people that their lives have value and meaning," he notes, and despite the inherent humor to be found in this, Best finds something profound in our willingness to treat our world as meaningful.
