Meritocracy is ... What is meritocracy? Principle of meritocracy

Let's answer the question "What is meritocracy?". A satirical essay entitled "The rise of meritocracy: 1870-2033", published in 1958, marked the birth of a new concept in social and political thought. Meritocracy is a "reign of the worthy". The book, published by Michael Young, an English politician and sociologist, in the form of a manuscript composed ostensibly in 2033, talks about the transformation of the British society at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Summary of the book "The rise of meritocracy: 1870-2033" by M. Young

In place of the classical divisions into classes that determine the place in the social hierarchy of a particular person by the presence of certain resources (connections, prosperity, origin, etc.), a new structure of society has come, where only the intellect and abilities determine the position of the individual in it. The ruling class has ceased to organize the UK, formed not on the basis of competence.

As a result of the reforms, meritocracy was introduced - a system of government of worthy people. The merit of a person was thus defined as a combination of two elements - the embedding of effort and intellect (IQ).

The development of society in the 1990s, according to Yanggu

By the 1990s, all the adult people belonged to the ruling class of meritocrats, the IQ of which exceeded 125. If previously capable gifted people could meet at different levels of the hierarchy of society and often became leaders within their social group or class, now the management system consisted of a single Intellectual elite. Those who for some reason were at the bottom did not have excuses for failures in moving up the social ladder, as it was before, when other principles and methods of management were in effect. They, in accordance with the new structure of society, deserved their low position, as the most capable people deserve to be at the top of the social hierarchy. That's what meritocracy is.

The Rebellion in 2033

Representatives of the lower social strata in 2033 rebelled with the support of representatives of the ruling elite, demanding an unconscious society and equality. They wanted to abolish the principle of meritocracy. The quality of life and the rights of people should not be determined by measuring the level of their education and intelligence, insisted the insurgents. Any person should be able to manage their lives on their own. A meritocracy is a power that limits this possibility. As a result of the uprising, it came to an end in Britain.

The purpose of Michael Young's book

Drawing a rather gloomy picture of meritocracy, the result of which was to become a new form of domination over others and social inequality, Michael Young set out to warn against the danger of limited orientation of British society. He was able to show that in his quest for progress, the basic value that made the intellect, loses at the same time a humanist principle, humanity.

Positive coloring of meritocracy

Many, however, did not hear Yang's warning. The content of the concept of "meritocracy" (the board of the most educated, capable people with the greatest intelligence) was preserved. However, the term was positive in color. In many countries, they began to strive for meritocracy, from Singapore to the UK. At the same time, it acted as an ideology that disguises the order of things, existing and strengthened as a result of neo-liberal policies.

"Board of worthy"

To designate a society in which intellectuals exercise rule, Michael Young introduced a new term - "the rule of worthy". Criteria of dignity are determined by the values that dominate society. After all, as Amartya Sen points out, this is a relative, not an absolute concept. Calling meritocracy the coming to power of the most educated and capable people, Michael Young reflected in this term the values that dominate the society. He is opposed precisely to their domination, drawing in his work "the rule of worthy" in a negative way. In fact, meritocracy is a form of post-industrial society, says Daniel Bell, her supporter. Knowledge and intellect, however, became the main value long before the advent of the information society.

Legacy of the Age of Enlightenment

Free from traditions and prejudices mind, unlimited search for knowledge, the pursuit of progress and rationalism - one of the main, or perhaps the main legacy that gave us the Age of Enlightenment. Philosophers of this era, breaking with traditional values, have set a new framework for self-determination and world understanding of mankind. It is in the pursuit of incessant growth through the use of new knowledge that one of the foundations of the popularity of the ideology of meritocracy can be found.

The connection of meritocracy with the concepts of efficiency and productivity

Progress along the path of progress and the supremacy of the mind determine the basic human dignity within the values dominant in society - the ability to make a contribution to the overall forward movement. The latter will be greatest only when each case is carried out by the most capable people most suitable for him. The concept of meritocracy is closely related to the concepts of efficiency and productivity. In particular, the desire to provide the most effective, productive activity of each person, which takes from the rationalism of the Age of Enlightenment its roots, lays the foundation for the highest speed of progress along the path of progress.

It can be assumed that this is the source of the definition of meritocracy as a just society. Only those who can achieve the greatest efficiency, productivity, the greatest growth, and should be at the top of the social hierarchy. Only the most capable should manage, because only they can pull the others to the side of progress. This is the legitimacy of meritocracy in modern society.

The Thought of Plato and Confucius

Organizational forms of government, in which power belongs to intellectuals, were described long before Michael Young introduced the term "meritocracy." For example, Plato said that state management should be entrusted to philosophers. In his teachings, Confucius also preached the need for the authorities to have educated rulers. Both of them, singing the aspiration to knowledge and reason, had a significant impact on the thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment, who sought inspiration from ancient philosophers.

However, the acquisition of knowledge and reason did not appear in Confucius and Plato as independent, self-valuable phenomena. They were closely related to the notions of achieving common good and virtue. For example, one of the basic principles of the teachings of Confucius is "Zhen", which denotes charity, philanthropy, humanity.

Confucius, as a supporter of universal education, understood under him the unity of the two processes: education and upbringing. The second one had the main role. The purpose of education, this thinker believed spiritual growth of personality, bringing it closer to the ideal of "junzi" (a noble person who is a bearer of high moral qualities).

Why is meritocracy an unjust device?

Michael Young, in his work, is opposed to the definition of intellectual abilities and reason as the dominant value that, in the framework of the meritocratic competition of modern society, supersedes all others, in particular philanthropy, equality, solidarity, compassion.

Daniel Bell, a theoretician of the post-industrial society, as well as other supporters of "the rule of worthy" argue that in a meritocratic society, everyone gets a position that he himself deserved. In contrast to egalitarianism, which advocates the equality of results at the end of the race, meritocracy stands for equality of opportunity at its beginning. Therefore, it is the most just system of society. Michael Young, however, believes that with this approach, the value orientations are limited. He says that every person should be respected for the good that is in him. However, it should not be limited to his abilities and intellect.

In the essay of Michael Young, the manifesto of people rebelling against meritocracy says that people should be judged not only on education and mental abilities, but also on other qualities: courage and kindness, sensitivity and imagination, generosity and the ability to sympathize. In such a society it would not be possible to say that the porter, who is a fine father, has less dignity than a scientist; And a civil servant is better than a beautiful rose-growing truck driver.

Meritocracy is a power based on the denial of the significance of all these qualities. In addition, it acts as an ideology in which there is no place for solidarity between people. It is based on competition: to achieve a high social status and quality of life, a person must continuously develop abilities and excel other people in them. Therefore, the roots of meritocracy - not in the collective, but in the individual beginning. In this sense, it acts as an ideology close to capitalism, with its competition, the demand for constant growth to maintain its leading position.

In the spirit of capitalism, meritocracy is incompatible with the idea of solidarity. Kai Nelsen, a Canadian philosopher, notes that at a fundamental level such a society is inhumane. It is inhuman, when people constantly compete with each other in almost all areas, while undergoing constant evaluation, sorting, ranking in the pursuit of a more productive society and greater efficiency. Thus, meritocracy is a system that destroys the foundations of solidarity and fraternity, undermining the sense of belonging to a single community.

However, the limitations of value orientations are just one of the problems of meritocracy and modern society, although it has not realized this ideology fully, but still professes it. Yang, criticizing this system of government, is also a critic of the social inequality caused by the hierarchical arrangement. He argues, echoing Kant's postulate of man as a goal in himself, that there is no fundamental basis for the existence of superiority of some people over others. A meritocracy is a power based on superiority.