Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel engages Menlo students in a Socratic debate about justice, ethics, and the “Tyranny of Merit.”

“Right now, our civic life isn’t going very well,” said Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel at an Upper School Assembly last spring. “And one of the reasons is that we’ve lost the art of democratic public discourse.” He went on to say that in order to improve civic life, we need to cultivate our ability to listen, reason, and argue together about things that matter, including big questions of values, justice, and ethics.

Agreeing to Disagree “There’s a hunger for that,” said Mr. Sandel. “I think people want public life to be about big things, big questions that matter.”

Sandel, known for sparking moral debate, asked students to grapple with questions like: What is a just society? What should we do about inequality? What do we owe one another as citizens? Rather than framing them as abstract dilemmas, he offered concrete scenarios—AI-powered robots for the elderly, appearance-based hiring, a college lottery—that invited collaborative debate. Hands shot up in response, each building on the last, in what Upper School Director John Schafer called “lively, respectful, and probing” exchanges.

Challenging Assumptions One of the most charged debates centered on predictive policing—using AI to arrest people before they commit crimes. Students weighed due process, free will, utilitarian logic, and personal loss, while Sandel pressed them to balance rational reasoning with moral considerations.

Far from the “technocratic talk” or “partisan food fights” he sees in public life, the Menlo exchange modeled civil, open-minded dialogue.

Mutual Respect Menlo equips students to become engaged citizens by combining critical thinking with ethical grounding. Sandel’s visit exemplified this mission. As he closed, he told students: “We’ve only just begun our exploration of what justice means. But what struck me is how good this group is at reasoning and arguing together—with civility and thoughtfulness—about big questions of values.”