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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: 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.