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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: 5, Interesting) by quintessence on Saturday June 18 2016, @08:03AM
We also know the attractive get a far easier ride the average uggos. Why no special accommodation for the misshapen and homily? Sometimes you get through this life on your brains. Sometimes through having nice teeth. Even odds as to which is more successful long-term.
I mean, if you really want to talk elitism, look no further than Hollywood and the cult of celebrity. Short of winning the genetic lottery or having some hefty cash on hand for extensive plastic surgery, the dumb, the smart and the ugly are permanently barred from that multimillionaire lifestyle. But the Kardashians are worth every last cent while spending money on researching something like fusion is always met with suspicion.
Intelligence is not lauded (as any person with a modicum of intelligence will tell you) unless it produces wealth for someone else. It's a handmaiden-whore for the aspirations of the owner class and the well-connected, and once it serves its purpose, it on the same breadlines as the blithering idiot. How many times have you heard "if you're so smart, why ain't you rich"? How many revolutions started with executing the intellectuals?
The reason society moved towards the idea of meritocracy is that it was an improvement over the nepotism and graft that use to dominate even more than they do now. You want dystopian satire? Read Machiavelli.
Fact of the matter is some very bright people are attempting to move society past the grind of the ownership class into something hopefully better for even the less than mentally endowed.
And the ugly truth is that discipline and dedication will outperform intelligence most days. And that is a quality you can develop in the bright and not so bright alike.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 18 2016, @08:12AM
Fact of the matter is some very bright people are attempting to move society past the grind of the ownership class into something hopefully better for even the less than mentally endowed.
Which masturbatory economy are you alluding to here? Basic income? Bitcoin? Robots? Basic income paid in bitcoin by taxing robots? Be more explicit, fuckface.
(Score: 2) by quintessence on Saturday June 18 2016, @08:25AM
Which masturbatory economy
VR porn isn't even here yet.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves (and you just know it's going to be proprietary like marriage).
(Score: 2, Insightful) by kurenai.tsubasa on Saturday June 18 2016, @11:25AM
The reason society moved towards the idea of meritocracy is that it was an improvement over the nepotism and graft that use to dominate even more than they do now. You want dystopian satire? Read Machiavelli.
This meritocracy thing sounds intriguing. Has it been tried before?
And the ugly truth is that discipline and dedication
Hahaha! That's a good one! Discipline and dedication! Next you're going to tell me that there's some kind of invisible hand that'll send me gold and wealth from the Jerb Creators in reward for discipline and dedication!
This mythology intrigues me.
(Score: 2) by quintessence on Sunday June 19 2016, @12:20AM
This mythology intrigues me.
Quite. As Confucianism influenced even Voltaire, and was a key component of the Enlightenment. Perhaps you should read more?
The fact the reign of kings has died down might have been your first clue.
Although civilization does occasionally advance through leaps and bounds, mostly it moves incrementally through, gasp! discipline and dedication, much like the push to end global poverty
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21578665-nearly-1-billion-people-have-been-taken-out-extreme-poverty-20-years-world-should-aim [economist.com]
But that requires seeing the world from a broader perspective than your navel.
(Score: 0, Troll) by kurenai.tsubasa on Sunday June 19 2016, @01:24AM
Lol. You imagine I am unfamiliar with these things. The kings are building themselves back up again.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 18 2016, @01:29PM
> And the ugly truth is that discipline and dedication will outperform intelligence most days
I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you didn't bother to read the article, didja?
Because despite your little tantrum, your conclusion ain't all that far off from the author's point.
Since you seem to think you are speaking as someone with at least "a modicum of intelligence" we are now left with a dilemma...