This article aims to elaborate the phenomenon of right-wing populism based on the thought of American contemporary political philosopher, Michael Sandel, on the tyranny of meritocracy. Various previous literatures understand right-wing populism as an anti-pluralism movement and a form of resistance of working class against globalization and technology. However, these analyses fail to see the decline of progressive politics as a trigger. This article therefore promotes a new way of understanding right-wing populism from Sandel’s perspective on the tyranny of meritocracy. This study uses literature review and critical analysis methods. This study indicates that: 1) Meritocracy is a certain moral belief in individual success that justifies inequality as fair based on the basic principles of liberalism; 2) There are five key theses of meritocracy that trigger right-wing populism, namely: a person’s fate is determined by individual success; everyone is responsible for their life; everyone can rise as long as they work hard; social inequality is a problem of person’s income which is linear with their hard work; and education is a solution of social inequality; 3) Even though populism in Indonesia is synonymous with religious populism, Sandel’s thought of the tyranny of meritocracy can be an alternative perspective to read the phenomenon of populism in Indonesia. 4) The challenge of right-wing populism can be answered by revitalizing public discourse, namely reviewing the premises of contemporary liberalism. This study concludes that the tyranny of meritocracy is a trigger for the right-wing populism in various democratic countries, including Indonesia.