Unmerited: Inequality and the new elite
By: Lemann, Nicholas
.
Material type: 
BookPublisher: Foreign Affairs Description: 99(1), Jan-Feb, 2020: p.140-147.Subject(s): Meritocracy, Inequality, New Elite, Michael Young, Social Mobility, American Beliefs, Educational Competition, Dystopian Critique, Institutional Success, Cultural Assumptions, Meritocratic Ideology, Historical Contrast
In:
Foreign AffairsSummary: This reflective essay revisits the concept of meritocracy, tracing its origins to Michael Young’s 1958 dystopian novel The Rise of the Meritocracy. It critiques the widespread American belief that schools and workplaces operate as pure meritocracies—open competitions where the most deserving succeed. The author argues that this assumption masks deeper inequalities and legitimizes the rise of a new elite whose success is often mistaken for merit. By examining the cultural and ideological underpinnings of meritocratic thinking, the piece challenges readers to reconsider the fairness and consequences of systems that claim to reward merit while perpetuating structural advantage.
. A bout 25 years ago, I spent a memorable afternoon in London with Michael Young, the author of the strange 1958 dystopian novel in the form of a dissertation called the rise of the meritocracy, which introduced that term into the English language. In the United States, for years, people have liked to insist that wherever they work or go to school is a meritocracy, meaning, roughly, that they understand it as an open competition in which the most deserving succeed. Americans assume meritocracy to be an unalloyed good; the term implies a contrast to some past system or an era when success. Reproduced
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/review-essay/2019-12-10/unmerited
| Item type | Current location | Call number | Vol info | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Articles
|
Indian Institute of Public Administration | 99(1), Jan-Feb, 2020: p.140-147 | Available | AR133023 |
This reflective essay revisits the concept of meritocracy, tracing its origins to Michael Young’s 1958 dystopian novel The Rise of the Meritocracy. It critiques the widespread American belief that schools and workplaces operate as pure meritocracies—open competitions where the most deserving succeed. The author argues that this assumption masks deeper inequalities and legitimizes the rise of a new elite whose success is often mistaken for merit. By examining the cultural and ideological underpinnings of meritocratic thinking, the piece challenges readers to reconsider the fairness and consequences of systems that claim to reward merit while perpetuating structural advantage.
. A bout 25 years ago, I spent a memorable afternoon in London with Michael Young, the author of the strange 1958 dystopian novel in the form of a dissertation called the rise of the meritocracy, which introduced that term into the English language. In the United States, for years, people have liked to insist that wherever they work or go to school is a meritocracy, meaning, roughly, that they understand it as an open competition in which the most deserving succeed. Americans assume meritocracy to be an unalloyed good; the term implies a contrast to some past system or an era when success. Reproduced
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/review-essay/2019-12-10/unmerited
There are no comments for this item.