Doha Debates Asks: Is ‘Earned Success’ an Illusion?

Can success ever be truly earned? In its latest flagship episode, Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates brings together global thinkers and students for a thought-provoking conversation on whether hard work and talent still determine who rises, or whether “earned success” conceals deeper inequities.

Daniel Markovits, Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School, argues that the system meant to promote fairness has instead entrenched inequality. “Meritocracy has become the principal obstacle to equality of opportunity, at least in the rich countries of the world,” he says, warning that competition built on elite education and inherited advantage has replaced real mobility.

Bryan Caplan, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, offers a contrasting view. “Meritocracy is pretty real if we actually had open borders where anyone could work anywhere,” he says. For Caplan, prosperity depends on personal responsibility and freedom of movement, not structural intervention.

From a human-centered perspective, Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School, challenges the idea that opportunity is equally accessible. “Meritocracy is a belief, a system where people are assumed to have opportunity solely on merit,” she says. “In reality, people experience bias and discrimination across many aspects of their identity.”

Offering a global outlook, Parag Khanna, Founder and CEO of AlphaGeo, sees potential in redefining meritocracy. “Meritocracy can work if the most qualified people are making decisions about the shape and direction of society,” he says, citing governance models that reward expertise and mobility.

Adding their voices, students from universities across Qatar reflect on how these ideas resonate with their generation. Sundus Saeed, 26, a social sciences student at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, says, “The system often ensures that people stay out, and if someone rises, hurdles are placed in their way to maintain the status quo.” Carl Jambo, 22, studying international economics at Georgetown University in Qatar, takes an opposing view, saying, “Meritocracy gives you the platform to prove yourself, an individual against the world.”

Filmed in Doha Debates’ signature Majlis-style format, the debate reflects the platform’s mission to host open, truth-seeking conversations for global audiences, inviting viewers to reconsider what fairness means and how societies can ensure opportunity for all.

Watch the full episode on DohaDebates.com and the Doha Debates YouTube channel.

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Doha Debates engages a vanguard of intellectually curious truth-seekers to constructively debate differences in order to build a better future. We emphasize unity over division, encouraging conversations that bring us together rather than drive us apart.

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