"Meritocracy" changed from "How do we ensure the best rise up?" to "How do we ensure ppl get an equal chance? Who decides who's best? How?"
It was used to protect the market from gov't social engineering—now it's used to justify it.
Time to find a new word. It's been co-opted.
It was used to protect the market from gov't social engineering—now it's used to justify it.
Time to find a new word. It's been co-opted.
To be sure, it was always tricky (read: impossible) to discern talent from effort from parents and social class and environment
To unbundle what's in your control (merit) from what isn't (circumstance)
Which leads to irresolvable conflict over who's the "best" & who "earns" it
To unbundle what's in your control (merit) from what isn't (circumstance)
Which leads to irresolvable conflict over who's the "best" & who "earns" it
Conflict such as:
"They earned it! They had equal legal opportunity. The darwinistic market decided. The fittest survived."
"No! They had a different starting line. Not a true meritocracy b/c it was never a fair race to begin with. The best don't rise, only the most privileged"
"They earned it! They had equal legal opportunity. The darwinistic market decided. The fittest survived."
"No! They had a different starting line. Not a true meritocracy b/c it was never a fair race to begin with. The best don't rise, only the most privileged"
Meritocracy used to be tautological:
If you won in the market, you thus earned it. We believed the market was a fairer process than gov't selection.
Now ppl think the opposite. If you win in the market, it's prob b/c you didn't earn it. Ppl want gov't to equalize starting line
If you won in the market, you thus earned it. We believed the market was a fairer process than gov't selection.
Now ppl think the opposite. If you win in the market, it's prob b/c you didn't earn it. Ppl want gov't to equalize starting line
In other words, meritocracy was whatever the market produced.
Now it's used to justify an aspirational goal where the ppl who worked the hardest (e.g. merit) win.
In order to truly do that you need to equalize everything so everyone has an equal chance
Now it's used to justify an aspirational goal where the ppl who worked the hardest (e.g. merit) win.
In order to truly do that you need to equalize everything so everyone has an equal chance
Counter: Meritocracy is the darwinistic process in action. Survival of the fittest. Life isn't fair. Tough.
Except, at some point we may be able to edit genes—and if our guiding notion of society is that all should have a literal equal starting line...
Creepy to think about.
Except, at some point we may be able to edit genes—and if our guiding notion of society is that all should have a literal equal starting line...
Creepy to think about.
