Meritocracy

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Meritocracy refers to the idea that the best people are in the best places. A meritocratic society is thus a place where the distribution of wealth and power exclusively depends on people's ability and intelligence. For this purpose of distinguishing the best from the rest, education in a meritocratic society is reduced to a mechanical cycle of giving the standardized test, finding the students with greatest academic achievements, and only fostering learning of these best students. Ideally meritocracy is reasonable both in society and in education, because it seemingly eliminates inequality of different backgrounds by only valuing diligence and aptitude; however, neither a fair evaluation of talents nor the elimination of inequality is easy to …show more content…
Because people can be talented in diverse aspects, it is unrealistic to design tests that can be so exhaustive that all people's talents receive fair measurements. Even assuming that there are tests that provide weighted judgements, meritocracy is hard to achieve given that people who do best in tests are not necessarily the most talented. For example, a poor person X may be more intelligent and diligent than a rich person Y. However, because of his poverty and therefore a lack of access to better education and resources, X is defeated by Y in this ideally inclusive tests and Y then gets better paid occupation and has some say in public. In this example, the failure of X represents the paradoxical situation resulting in the fact that people ranking higher are probably not people with more intelligence or hardworking. For achieving equality the society have to first eliminate inequality, and it goes into a loop which can be explained in this example that for their full ability to be tested, X and Y should first have the same starting point or same resources, a prerequisite impossible to

Meritocracy In Canada

be successful. This would be true if Canada were a meritocracy. Meritocracy is defined as when advancement in society is based on individual ability or achievement rather than ones class or status. (Naiman, 2012, p. 218) However, after investigating social inequality and how a person’s positioning in the social categories of class, race and gender impact their opportunities, I feel compelled to make the argument that Canada is not a meritocracy…

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Examples Of Meritocracy

Meritocracy is the notion that one succeeds only on the basis of his/her own abilities. (Desmond, 2010) There are three assumptions that argue that affirmative action threatens meritocracy. The first assumption is people get ahead in life solely by virtue of their own talents, skills, and work ethic. This is not true because there are racial inequalities in wealth. For example, “The average black family that earns $15,000 year in income has $0 net worth, or is in debt actually compared to the average…

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Meritocracy In America

Meritocracy is a political system based on merit. Are positions hierarchical based on the worthiness conquered by virtue, talent, education, specific competence or fitness for a particular job. Also meritocratic often integrate the concept of talent with effort. United States is a country where people are judged on their individual abilities rather than their family connections (washington, 2004). The condition of your birth doesn’t determined the outcome of your life. The colonies were settled by…

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Comparing Meritocracy And Aristocracy

Meritocracy and Aristocracy both promise high status and recognition, but each to a different social status group. Many people believed that Aristocracy would be what determined who got power, but other people strongly disagreed. While both Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton valued the importance of a well built government, they significantly disagreed on how it would be run and which part of the government gets the most power. The argumentative pair both wanted a free and stable country that…

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Meritocracy In George Gladwell's 'Outliers'

they deserve, by giving everyone an opportunity to shine. In the book Outliers, it talks about the term meritocracy, which is a system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead. As someone who wants to become a pre-school teacher, I can’t look at just talent. Especially amongst the poverty stricken children. In the book Outliers by Gladwell, it challenges the concept of meritocracy as well. Gladwell points out that, in addition to…

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Austen Persuasion Essay Practice Updated 1

particularly those of the rigid class system, and the worth that was placed on persuasion, Austen subtly challenges and critiques many aspects of her society, particularly through the use of characterisation. The contrast between aristocracy and meritocracy is examined in depth, and the ideals of these classes are characterised by Sir Walter, Lady Russell and Anne. Through this, Austen critiques the aristocracy and the snobbery of the upper class. Using the characters of Anne and Captain Wentworth…

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Social Classes: Vitality In Capitalism

definition of social classes, she goes on to explain that meritocracy has been erroneously affiliated with social classes. She elaborates that meritocracy is the belief that the arbitrary merit in one’s work predicates their value in society and does not allow for social mobility, while social classes factor in material, occupational, educational, and social assets with social mobility. Once expunged from its obscure layers of meritocracy, social classes demonstrate their vitality in capitalistic…

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Using Material from Item a and Elsewhere, Assess the Contribution of Functionalism to Understanding of the Role of Educationn Essay examples

society are both based on meritocratic principles. He describes school as a ‘society in miniature’, an institution that teaches pupils roles and responsibilities’, readying them for the wider society’s universalistic values, achieved status and meritocracy. Like Parsons, Davis and Moore also see education as a device for selection and role allocation, but they focus on the relationship between education and social inequality. They argue that inequality is necessary to ensure that the most important…

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Summary Of Class In America By Gregory Mantsios

analysis of the impact of social class on individual opportunities and success in American society. Mantsios raises the acute question of a person’s social success, depending on class, in modern America. He argues that despite the American myth of meritocracy,…

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Response To Alain De Botton's Speech

Botton’s speech is that a person’s definition of success is their own definition and no one else’s. De Botton uses points such as snobbery, meritocracy, and the fact that expectations are high for people (de Botton, 2009). One of the points made was snobbery, which is when a person judges someone else based on a small aspect of one’s life. Another point made was meritocracy, a meritocratic society is one in which people with no limitations will be at the top of social status and success. One of the last…

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