I'm begging people to remember that 'meritocracy' was coined for a work of satirical fiction. It is not a real thing, and, as the satire suggested, defining 'merit' as a standalone measurable individual quality is impossible. - ThreadSky

sarahmay1.bsky.social • 18 hours ago

I'm begging people to remember that 'meritocracy' was coined for a work of satirical fiction. It is not a real thing, and, as the satire suggested, defining 'merit' as a standalone measurable individual quality is impossible.

Reposted from Prof Damien Page

Yet women are less likely to be in leadership positions than men.

Good article here countering the meritocracy myth. www.forbes.com/sites/tomasp...

Comments

bolshevikmilf.bsky.social•13 hours ago

it's like people who somehow don't understand that 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' was meant to be a joke, it's meant to be an impossible thing to do.

oldandintheway.bsky.social•14 hours ago

But it has become a real thing.

When you communicate in a living language, people will find their own use for your phraseology. Can't stop or control it, especially if it fills a perceived need.

"Meritocracy" is easily understandable and makes sense in the context in which it's currently used.

sarahmay1.bsky.social•14 hours ago

Sure, language changes. I'm not worried about that. But meritocracy remains meaningless, a word that covers for other systems of power. So it's worth remembering the views of the person who coined the word. In order to stop folks thinking of it as a naturalised virtue.

oldandintheway.bsky.social•14 hours ago

"... a word that covers for other systems of power..."

It is said that way. But I don't think it's heard that way.

Hmm. It seems I've just convinced myself that you're right.

laura718.bsky.social•13 hours ago

“If you think affirmative action and DEI are unfair, wait till you hear about meritocracy”

dingokayfabe.bsky.social•11 hours ago

Yeah meritocracy myth is damn right and yeah I mean this says it all about how well read our “meritocratic elite” is

dingokayfabe.bsky.social•11 hours ago

Meritocracy is a boomer in an extremely expensive but still dumpy looking polo shirt and chinos and a perm telling you they’re too busy to worry about Wal Mart’s business practices and it’ll be ok because the free market will naturally produce a good outcome but they gotta go to make their tee time

brandonjitsu.bsky.social•15 hours ago

Sounds like something a non-straight non-white non-man would say

sarahmay1.bsky.social•15 hours ago

In fairness, the satire was written by a straight white man

brandonjitsu.bsky.social•15 hours ago

Apologies, I meant to be ironically teasing you, specifically

rhysneedham.bsky.social•17 hours ago

It's actually quite a convenient size for a book, too.

jecathre.bsky.social•15 hours ago

Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps was like that, an example of something physically impossible that was. Now it's The American Way. Madness.

jecathre.bsky.social•15 hours ago

My kingdom for an edit button.

goldstein.bsky.social•8 hours ago

Hanlon's Razor was from a joke book, but people still refuse to accept that its not a good idea.

jlimburg.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Read it recently. An unusual book in so many ways.

lethargicprimate.bsky.social•13 hours ago

I believe he was also concerned that in a 'meritocracy' people who did well would feel that they had earned their wealth and power rather than having been to any degree fortuitous and that those without naturally belonged at the bottom. Luckily for us we don't live in that kind of environment :D

jayanne.bsky.social•16 hours ago

But a hugely influential RW trope .

sarahmay1.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Coined by a hugely influential left wing politician

quizzicaldan.bsky.social•7 hours ago

Toby Young’s dad, who got the son into Oxford by calling the admissions tutor when the A level results weren’t up to scratch to ask “Do you know who I am?”.

ds00n.bsky.social•14 hours ago

Conservative Preachers probably assume they came up with it though.

craigwalmsley.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Well, we appear to be living in a satire, so perhaps it’s use is justified?

geordielass.bsky.social•15 hours ago

We are very much in the age of it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Was always the case but more so now than it was. Welcome to the age of those that have, and those that have not

jocanib.bsky.social•14 hours ago

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/29/comment

sarahmay1.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Some more on the book, or you could read the book https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_of_the_Meritocracy

greensloth.bsky.social•17 hours ago

📌

mx-peacekeeper.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Sounds like a prime candidate for @ifbookspod.bsky.social (if they haven't covered it already).

aaronkashtan.bsky.social•16 hours ago

For a critique of meritocracy see Christopher Paul’s book The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games.

rogermccarthy.bsky.social•16 hours ago

And not only a satirical but a dystopian fiction!

muzzac.bsky.social•15 hours ago

It feels like "dystopian fiction" is becoming a useless label. Maybe restrict descriptors to "utopian fiction" and "reality fiction".

nicholaspoggioli.com•14 hours ago

"Best and brightest" also originated as an ironic book title and became a non-ironic term.

rachelernst.bsky.social•10 hours ago

I found the beginning of this article to be rife with bizarre blanket judgements that seemed completely detached from the actual systems and understanding of context which made me not read the rest of it. "Everyone knows that..." no, actually no. The author completely misread the situation.

sarahmay1.bsky.social•10 hours ago

I agree, the article is weak. I was quoting it because it was treating meritocracy as something we are not reaching, rather than as something which cannot and should not exist. It indicated the author wasn't aware of the origin of the word.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply