Summary of the Key Points
This article uses the desire games depicted in the movie "The Night" to contrast the changes in life logic between the 20th and 21st centuries, leading to a discussion in the new book "Achievements" by Vietnamese philosophy professor Nguyen. The book explores the concept of meritocracy, which encourages people to outsource what is valuable to external rating systems (such as GPA and review data), ignoring the essential meaning of things. However, the article also reveals a harsh truth: meritocracy may not be an externally imposed rule but rather a cover for individuals who are afraid to confront their true desires, using the pursuit of scores to conceal their anxiety and narcissism.
I. The Desire Games of the Past vs the Meritocracy Games of Today: Have Life Rules Changed?
The stone-throwing game in "The Night" has ambiguous rules (someone reaches 700 points but then stops throwing stones), reflecting the struggles of desire within the upper class: Giovanni hesitates to accept a high-paying job offered by a wealthy woman's father, revealing his narcissism—his love for himself over money and women; Lydia manipulates her husband to get closer to Valentina, showing a hypocritical craving for "true love." In the past, life games followed desires, filled with ambiguity and struggle.
But what about today? Young people are exposed to concepts like "game theory" and the "trolley problem," focusing on maximizing benefits: Giovanni should become a public relations director (to earn money), Lydia should divorce (to minimize losses), and Valentina shouldn't date a poor old man (for social compatibility). Today's life is like a quantifiable ranking competition, where the rules are based on logical "optimal solutions," trampling personal desires underfoot.
II. Nguyen's Dilemma with Meritocracy: From Academic Anxiety to Rock Climbing—Can One Escape the Pressure of Ratings?
Nguyen himself is a typical meritocrat: writing papers for journals causes him anxiety, so he turns to rock climbing in search of relief—but even rock climbing becomes a game of scoring (pursuing higher difficulty levels), leading to more anxiety and self-hatred. He proposes the concept of "value capture"—people outsource their values to external systems; for example, restaurants focus on reviews rather than food quality, students on GPA rather than learning, and scientists on funding rather than truth. There is a huge gap between these measured "scores" and truly meaningful activities.
For instance, when he plays the piano, his parents only care about how it looks, not the joy of the process; when climbing, he doesn't enjoy the activity itself but only focuses on the difficulty level. He is always chasing the next score, never satisfied with the illusion of being a "superhero."
III. Is Meritocracy Imposed by Others or a Choice We Make?
The article reveals a painful truth: meritocracy may not be an externally imposed rule but rather a reflection of our inner desires. Nguyen wants to escape the constraints of meritocracy, but his book doesn't provide a real solution because he is afraid to confront his own desires. He climbs not for pleasure but for scores; he criticizes meritocracy yet cannot escape its logic.
Just like Lydia in "The Night," who thinks she wants "true love" but actually seeks narcissistic fulfillment; Giovanni hesitates to accept the job not out of pride but because his self-love is stronger than anything else. Meritocrats blame social rules for their unhappiness, when in reality, they are afraid to face their true desires—afraid to admit they are not "bastardly" enough and afraid to confront their inner emptiness.
IV. The Cost of Meritocracy: For Whose Scores Are You Living?
The greatest cost of meritocracy is the detachment from essence and self-destruction:
- Restaurants sacrifice food quality for star ratings;
- Students memorize mechanically without truly learning;
- Nguyen ignores the joy of sports for the sake of climbing difficulty levels.
Meritocrats are always after higher scores, never filling the void in their hearts—living in an illusion of being capable of achieving everything with high scores, only to be left with anxiety and self-hatred.
V. How to Escape "Others' Games"? Nguyen's Direction for Reflection
Nguyen's book offers a way out: to realize the trap of "value capture" and stop outsourcing our values to external systems. For example:
- Restaurants should focus on making delicious food, not on reviews;
- Students should focus on learning knowledge, not on GPA;
- We should pursue what we truly want, not the definition of success imposed by others.
The article concludes by saying, "Let us escape banality and stop using 'meritocracy' to describe all this." In other words, we should stop using social rules as excuses and confront our true desires; only then can we begin to escape these games.
This article does not provide a definitive answer but reminds us that life is not a ranking competition. Don't let others' ratings define your worth. What you truly desire is what you should be striving for—the real "score" that matters most.