Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life

The final section of the book delves into the role of society in the current system of elite education. The system’s effect on America is to reinforce and continue the class system by.

…exacerbating inequality, retarding social mobility, perpetuating privilege, and creating an elite that is as isolated from the society that it’s supposed to lead—and even more smug about its right to its position—as the WASP aristocracy itself (205).

Deresiewicz provides statistics to show that income inequality has worsened in the US over the last 30 years, which is further reflected in the student bodies of elite institutions. In fact, the elite schools want it this way for a variety of reasons and are not amenable to change.

Deresiewicz also examines what it means to say Americans live in a meritocracy. On the surface, it implies a level playing field in which everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. He argues, however, that elite campuses are rigidly segregated by socioeconomic status: Diversity exists in terms of ethnicity and gender but not class. This breeds a certain sense of superiority among the upper-class elite. They believe in the popular notion of the country as a meritocracy and believe they work harder than others; therefore, they must be better because they’ve earned it.