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posted by
n1
on Saturday June 18 2016, @06:20AM
from the in-my-day-we-called-it-social-darwinism dept.
from the in-my-day-we-called-it-social-darwinism dept.
When Michael Young, a British sociologist, coined the term meritocracy in 1958, it was in a dystopian satire. At the time, the world he imagined, in which intelligence fully determined who thrived and who languished, was understood to be predatory, pathological, far-fetched.
Today, however, we’ve almost finished installing such a system, and we have embraced the idea of a meritocracy with few reservations, even treating it as virtuous. That can’t be right. Smart people should feel entitled to make the most of their gift. But they should not reshape society so as to instate giftedness as a universal yardstick of human worth.
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When the Term Meritocracy was Coined in 1958, it was in a Dystopian Satire
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I'm wearing PAMPERS!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 18 2016, @06:59AM
Monopoly the game was originally meant as a warning against rentier capitalism.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 18 2016, @07:31AM
I thought Monopoly was an educational game to teach greed. I never played it. I assume that's why I simply don't care about money.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Saturday June 18 2016, @11:57AM
No, the GP was right. However the "lesson" goes over most people's heads and it is more likely to teach them greed as you say. As in gambling, before the event most people assume they will be a winner even if they actually lose in the board game simulation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 18 2016, @08:18AM
Actually, it was meant as a demonstration of Georgism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgism [wikipedia.org]
but when you mention getting rid of ALL taxes besides on land, the left goes apeshit over the wealthy not paying their fair share and the right gives you fairytales about homesteading conferring ownership rights.
And always that first-mover advantage magically falls in their favor.