Posted on 06/01/2021 7:40:37 AM PDT by ProgressingAmerica
Meritocracy has become a leading social ideal. Politicians across the ideological spectrum continually return to the theme that the rewards of life—money, power, jobs, university admission—should be distributed according to skill and effort. The most common metaphor is the ‘even playing field’ upon which players can rise to the position that fits their merit. Conceptually and morally, meritocracy is presented as the opposite of systems such as hereditary aristocracy, in which one’s social position is determined by the lottery of birth. Under meritocracy, wealth and advantage are merit’s rightful compensation, not the fortuitous windfall of external events.
Most people don’t just think the world should be run meritocratically, they think it is meritocratic. In the UK, 84 per cent of respondents to the 2009 British Social Attitudes survey stated that hard work is either ‘essential’ or ‘very important’ when it comes to getting ahead, and in 2016 the Brookings Institute found that 69 per cent of Americans believe that people are rewarded for intelligence and skill. Respondents in both countries believe that external factors, such as luck and coming from a wealthy family, are much less important. While these ideas are most pronounced in these two countries, they are popular across the globe.
Although widely held, the belief that merit rather than luck determines success or failure in the world is demonstrably false. This is not least because merit itself is, in large part, the result of luck. Talent and the capacity for determined effort, sometimes called ‘grit’, depend a great deal on one’s genetic endowments and upbringing.
Yup, that's why a 5,000 year project...
“At my company, if you do good work, you will never be promoted....”
The company from which I retired many years ago was completely opposite. I should say it was before the union came in changed it all for the wage earners. The salaried continued being promoted and rewarded for good work. It was a good company.
I want my multi-million dollar pro baseball contract!!!!!!!
But keep this in mind: If you take COMPETITION out of the equation, like the Commies want to do, meritocracy is useless and becomes demonstrably false.
Meritocracy actually helps us all and makes us ALL better off. This professor is NOT stupid . . . he is just a committed Commie. . . and his philosophy is GARBAGE.
“Although widely held, the belief that merit rather than luck determines success or failure in the world is demonstrably false. This is not least because merit itself is, in large part, the result of luck. Talent and the capacity for determined effort, sometimes called ‘grit’, depend a great deal on one’s genetic endowments and upbringing.”
IOW, skill and hard work do pay off.
Meritocracy means you get to keep the fruits of your labor. What they are proposing is that you work hard, earn money, and it’s taken and given to lazy indolent whining slobs who hate you.
“Talent and the capacity for determined effort, sometimes called ‘grit’, depend a great deal on one’s genetic endowments and upbringing.”
That is true. So you can blame God for making some of us smarter and some dumber. Yes, the world is “unfair” if by unfair you mean un-equal.
What this Princeton IYI (intellectual yet idiot) fails to realize is that most of the wealth of this world is generated by these gifted people and the generation and ownership of that wealth is what motivates their activities.
If you take that motivation away their wealth creation will mostly disappear.
He thinks he can make Marx dictum “From each according to their abilities an to each according to their needs”, work.
That worked very well in the USSR, didn’t it?
And the only reason China is doing so well economically nowadays is because they abandoned that idiocy.
These equality of results munger are the scourge of humanity, and they should be eradicated.
As a Calvinist, I don’t use the “L” word. How can one be grateful to luck? That is bizarre. The idea of luck is a bludgeon the left uses to guilt people out of their money.
The author mentions genetic factors. Is he being racist? Perhaps the woke mob should put him on trial.
It is quite possible that all or most the billionaires in the world today have the ethics of hyenas ... in which case the taking of advice that is dished out by said billionaires in the interest of “social justice” or “a more enlightened society” or “sustainability” should be taken together with the necessary million tons of salt.
Yeah, but opportunity far, far too often shows up looking like hard work!
Somebody here has been turned down for tenure a few times.
You can create equality of outcomes, but, like trying to get a dog and a cat to mate, the forces of the universe are against it.
Entitlement is pure poison to gratitude.
Gratitude is likewise to feeling entitled.
The Left is all about being entitled, encouraging folks to think they are being held out on of receiving their due.
The Left thrives when people are selfish pukes whose “generosity” is expressed at the voting booth.
“It’s becoming hard to believe that our civilization will last much longer.”
If by “our” you mean the US I tend to agree given our level of idiocy and insanity, and with no end in sight.
China on the other hand, bad as they are, has learned its lesson and rewards meritocracy and that is why their economy went from a total basket case to one that is booming and soon will surpass ours.
Our entire foreign aid policy in a single sentence.
Because there’s an IQ regression to the mean - the system we have now: sons and daughters of elites who made it on merit... we have the stupid of the country running the country and University systems.
And once the sports leagues abandon meritocracy, implement that in movies & television, and university professors.
Rejection of meritocracy is demonstrable racism. If meritocracy = white supremacism, the person who thinks that thinks that whites have the greatest merit.
Me too.................
One day these SJWs will be hunted in the streets like rats.
It won’t.
Anacyclosis ALWAYS wins.
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