Meritocracy

Meritocracy issystemgovernment based on rule by ability rather than by wealth or social position. Ironically,term was first used inpejorative senseMichael Young's 1958 book Rise ofMeritocracy, which was written fromstandpoint offuturewhich one's social placedetermined by IQ plus effort. Inbook, this social system ultimately leads tosocial revolutionwhichmasses overthrowelite, who have become arrogantdisconnected fromfeelings ofpublic.

Despitenegative origin ofword, theremany who believe thatmeritocratic system isgood thingsociety. Proponentsmeritocracy argue thatmeritocratic systemmore justmore productive than other systems,allows forenddistinctions based on social class or race.

There have been other criticisms ofnotionmeritocracyadditionYoung's original criticism thatsystemwhich social positiondetermined by objective characteristics would still be unegalitarianunstable. One whichoften made by proponentscritical theory concept argue that meritdefined bypower elite simplylegitimizesystemwhich social statusactually determined by class, birth,wealth.

Most governmental systems contain some elementmeritocracy. For instance,most representative democracies, partiesvoters useperformancecandidatescampaigning orofficedetermine who should be re-electedwhat senior positionsmay hold. Elected officers usually also hire expert advisershelp formulate policies. However, pure meritocraciesvirtually unknown. Some would suggest thatmilitary ranking systemperhapsclosest systempure meritocracy which can easilly be found. Others might suggestWikipedia itselfsuchcircumstance, due topower structure ofWikipedia.

See also: aristocracy