Meritocracy
Do we live in a meritocracy? I used to say not, but it just occurred to me recently that I was thinking about it the wrong way. Just like biological selection, social meritocracy is value-neutral. The only "value" it selects for is success. So it's not that we don't live in a meritocracy; it's that we live in a meritocracy that doesn't necessarily reward the merits we would like it to reward.
There are two lessons to be learned from this. First, a lesson for progressives: if we want to change our society, we shouldn't deny that it's a meritocracy; instead, we should try to identify the merits it does reward and think of ways to change them. And second, a lesson for conservatives: we shouldn't mistake those value-neutral merits for virtues.
There are two lessons to be learned from this. First, a lesson for progressives: if we want to change our society, we shouldn't deny that it's a meritocracy; instead, we should try to identify the merits it does reward and think of ways to change them. And second, a lesson for conservatives: we shouldn't mistake those value-neutral merits for virtues.