No One Is Self-Made
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Christine Abigail L Tan traces the philosophical roots of meritocracy from ancient Confucianism β which justified inequality as the just reward of moral cultivation β to its modern neoliberal form. Confucius and his successors, including Mencius and Xunzi, argued that because everyone begins with equal moral capacity, unequal outcomes reflect differences in effort and self-discipline. Social hierarchy, on this view, maps moral worth: those who are xian (worthy) deserve authority, resources, and power.
The Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi, writing a century after Confucius, dismantles this framework entirely. Through parables β including the bandit Robber Zhi outmanoeuvring Confucius in moral argument β Zhuangzi argues that moral virtue cannot be reliably measured, that power determines who appears virtuous rather than the reverse, and that individual agency is always co-produced by circumstance, luck, and institutional conditions. His concept of ziran (the “so-of-itself”) holds that no self stands apart from its conditions β and therefore no one can truly claim to be self-made.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Confucianism Justifies Hierarchy
Confucius argued that since everyone shares equal moral capacity at birth, unequal outcomes reflect unequal effort β making social hierarchy morally deserved.
Virtue Cannot Be Stably Measured
Zhuangzi argues that moral evaluations are always context-dependent β what looks virtuous in one situation can be cruel in another, making universal ranking impossible.
Power Produces the Appearance of Virtue
Zhuangzi inverts Confucianism: authority does not reward the worthy β it is power that determines who gets counted as worthy in the first place.
Virtue Rankings Breed Self-Exploitation
Once virtue can be measured and exchanged for social rank, individuals are incentivised to treat their own lives as raw material β a dynamic visible in modern hustle culture.
Ziran: Agency Is Co-Produced
The Daoist concept of ziran holds that actions arise from a convergence of conditions β upbringing, luck, institutions β rather than from an isolated individual will.
Inequality Loses Its Moral Engine
If no self fully authors its own outcomes, then social inequality cannot be justified by desert β the entire moral grammar of meritocracy collapses.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Meritocracy Is a Moral Fiction Built on a Flawed Theory of the Self
Tan’s central argument is that meritocracy β whether in its ancient Confucian or modern neoliberal form β depends on an assumption that Zhuangzi exposes as false: that a sovereign, isolated self authors its own outcomes. Because the conditions for agency are unequally distributed before any effort begins, and because power shapes who appears virtuous, inequality can never be genuinely deserved.
Purpose
To Philosophically Dismantle Desert as the Basis for Social Inequality
Tan writes to equip readers with a rigorous philosophical vocabulary β drawn from Zhuangzi, Confucianism, Gramsci, and Graeber β for challenging the intuitive appeal of meritocracy. Her goal is not merely academic: she wants to show that a society oriented around conditions for flourishing, rather than the ranking of individuals, is both possible and philosophically superior.
Structure
Expository β Dialectical β Illustrative β Deconstructive β Visionary
The essay opens by establishing the intuitive appeal of desert and meritocracy, then expounds Confucianism sympathetically before deploying Zhuangzi’s parables to systematically undercut it. Real-world examples (the 2008 financial crisis, Alvin Kennard) ground the abstract argument, and the essay closes with a positive Daoist vision of a society oriented by ziran rather than individual desert.
Tone
Scholarly, Incisive & Quietly Radical
The tone is academically rigorous but accessible β Tan takes Confucianism seriously before dismantling it, and never resorts to polemic. The writing carries a quiet urgency: this is not merely an intellectual exercise but a challenge to ideas that cause real harm. The closing vision of a world oriented by conditions rather than desert gives the essay a constructive, hopeful register that lifts it beyond pure critique.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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The Confucian principle of “rectification of names” β assigning people the titles and roles that correspond precisely to their actual moral standing and social function.
“Zhengming translates moral inequality into a coherent social map, ensuring that cultivated capacities align with social positions.”
A Daoist concept meaning “naturalness” or the “so-of-itself” β the idea that events and actions arise spontaneously from the convergence of conditions, not from a sovereign individual will.
“In a world of ziran, no one is a self-made success. And if no one is self-made, then inequality has no foundation.”
Payment or other financial benefit received for work or services; salary, fee, or profit from employment or office.
“Though one may have as his emolument the whole world, he need not consider it excessive.”
Easily irritated; inclined to quarrel or cause trouble; used here to describe the politically unstable, conflict-ridden world Zhuangzi and Confucius both inhabited.
“…living in the same hostile and politically fractious world…”
Having tiny openings that allow substances to pass through; used metaphorically to describe a self that is permeable to and shaped by its external conditions rather than sealed and self-contained.
“…selves are porous, responsive and entangled, moving with the grain of their situations rather than standing above them.”
Argued forcefully in protest or objection; made a strong and earnest plea to a person in authority against their actions or decisions.
“Bi Gan, who remonstrated with King Zhou so forcefully that his heart was cut out…”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to the article, Confucianism holds that human beings are born with unequal moral capacities, which is why some people are naturally more worthy than others.
2In the parable of Robber Zhi and Confucius, what is Zhuangzi’s primary point about the difference between the sage and the bandit?
3Which sentence most directly expresses Zhuangzi’s inversion of the Confucian relationship between power and virtue?
4Classify each of the following statements as True or False based on the article.
The article uses the real-world case of Alvin Kennard and the 2008 financial crisis to illustrate Zhuangzi’s claim that power tips the scales of accountability.
The article states that the word “meritocracy” was coined by Confucius to describe his philosophy of moral hierarchy.
According to Zhuangzi’s concept of ziran, action arises from the convergence of circumstances rather than from an isolated individual will.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5The article describes the parable of Liezi riding the wind. Based on Zhuangzi’s use of this parable, what can be inferred about someone who attributes their success entirely to personal effort and willpower?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Zhuangzi was a Daoist philosopher writing roughly a century after Confucius, during the same period of political instability in ancient China. Rather than offering a competing moral programme, he questioned the very premises of moral hierarchy β that virtue can be measured, that hierarchies reflect merit, and that individuals author their own outcomes. His critique, rooted in the concept of ziran (the so-of-itself), anticipates modern arguments about structural inequality, luck, and the social construction of desert.
Xian, meaning “worthiness,” is the Confucian concept that captures the difference between those who have cultivated moral virtues β compassion, righteous judgment, and restraint β and those who have not. Because Confucianism holds that economic and political inequality are only justified when they mirror moral inequality, xian becomes the key mechanism: those who are xian through their own effort deserve authority and resources, while those who fail to cultivate themselves do not. The essay argues this is precisely what Zhuangzi dismantles.
The article argues that, despite the vocabulary shifting from virtue to productivity and from cultivation to performance, the underlying moral grammar is strikingly similar: inequality appears deserved because it presents itself as the cumulative result of individual effort within an open system. Modern hustle culture β with its “rise and grind” ethos and pressure to forego basic necessities β is identified as the contemporary form of what Confucian xian produces: a system that turns human life into a resource to be spent in pursuit of moral capital and social standing.
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This article is rated Advanced. It is a dense philosophical essay requiring familiarity with abstract concepts β moral agency, ontology, hegemony, and Daoist thought β as well as the ability to track a multi-stage argument across competing philosophical traditions. The prose is precise but demanding, with specialist terminology from Confucian and Daoist philosophy. It is well-suited for CAT, GRE, and GMAT candidates who need practice with long, argument-driven passages that require inference and critical evaluation rather than surface-level recall.
Christine Abigail L Tan is a philosopher whose work engages with Confucian and Daoist thought in relation to contemporary questions of justice and inequality. Aeon is a respected international digital magazine that publishes long-form essays by academics and intellectuals on philosophy, science, society, and the arts. It is known for making rigorous scholarly ideas accessible to a broad, educated readership β making it an excellent source of Advanced-level RC passages for competitive exam preparation.
The Ultimate Reading Course covers 9 RC question types: Multiple Choice, True/False, Multi-Statement T/F, Text Highlight, Fill in the Blanks, Matching, Sequencing, Error Spotting, and Short Answer. This comprehensive coverage prepares you for any reading comprehension format you might encounter.
