Meritocracy: The Pain and the Hope

By DON ROLLINS

Don’t look now, but talking about meritocracy in America is once again a thing. nnA late-1950s term credited to British sociologist Michael Young, the idea is to create a Smithian, socioeconomic atmosphere whereby the “best and brightest” continually compete for capital — a philosophy both misguided and dangerous for democracy.

If we didn’t know it pre-Trump, we surely do now: ours remains a nation steeped in meritocratic values and the classist worldview they perpetuate. Indeed 60 years after Young called out Western meritocratic societies for measuring human worth and dignity against the metrics of “intellect” and “work ethic,” there are few, if any, developed societies so rife with elitism in general, and white supremacy culture in particular.

This by now almost unconscious embrace of meritocracy manifests itself at every turn, from who does and doesn’t get a decent hourly rate, to who does and doesn’t get a decent meal. But two key economic “arenas” betray our meritocratic ways like few others: the stock markets, and the hiring time.

In an online article from May 2020, Malaysian Chinese banker Andrew Sheng describes how the myths of meritocracy have become standard operating procedure in market settings:

“This abuse of power by the elite is exemplified by the shareholder-value model of corporate governance. The model suggests that a company should pay top dollar for management to maximise shareholder value. Top management talent are given share options so as to align their interests with those of shareholders.

The assumption is that profitable and efficient companies create value for shareholders and society. However, in practice, many managers use the corporate cash for share buy-backs to prop up the value of their share options, sell valuable assets to maintain quarterly earnings and sack staff whenever profits are threatened.”

Here there is no effort to veil the greed inherent to purist meritocracies. People, their livelihoods and the greater good are sacrificed for a fixed bottom line. Daily.

If American-style meritocracy is empowering the elite with such zero sum economics, it by is definition disempowering the rest of us, none more than those systematically oppressed.

Researcher and author Marianne Cooper has written about meritocracy as a tool for oppression. From her 2015 article that appeared in The Atlantic:

“This strong commitment to meritocratic ideals can lead to suspicion of efforts that aim to support particular demographic groups. For example, initiatives designed to recruit or provide development opportunities to under-represented groups often come under attack as ‘reverse discrimination.’ Some companies even justify not having diversity policies by highlighting their commitment to meritocracy. If a company evaluates people on their skills, abilities, and merit, without consideration of their gender, race, sexuality etc., and managers are objective in their assessments then there is no need for diversity policies, the thinking goes.”

Sheng and Cooper remind us the human toll exacted by meritocratic capitalism is real: corporate heads with prestigious degrees and connections really do shed employees and their benefits to protect profit margins; HR departments really do skirt mandated hiring practices with relative ease, hiring and promoting with little legal incentive to help redistribute wealth.

These barely private examples underscore the importance of Biden’s efforts on behalf of the underprivileged and underserved. National broadband access, programs underwriting both renters and rental owners, extended unemployment benefits, relief for small businesses, increases in corporate tax rates — one and all balms for the suffering inflicted by a false reckoning of human worth and dignity.

Yes, our expectations of a single administration’s capacity to undo rampant meritocracy should be tamped down. Its a system of ill gotten rewards baked into capitalism, as American as it comes. But what we can expect (and personally work toward), is a fairer shake for those whose worth, abilities and drive deserve far better.

Don Rollins is a Unitarian Universalist minister living in Hendersonville, N.C. Email donaldlrollins@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, June 15, 2021

Populist.com