— by Ahmad Thakur
Meritocracy is the idea that everyone, no matter their background or circumstances, can climb the social ladder if they work hard. This idea works on the assumption that there are equal opportunities for all members of a society.
While equal opportunities for all might sound like a great idea on paper, the truth is that certain people have privileges and advantages and are in a better position to take advantage of opportunities while others simply cannot.
Belief in meritocracy requires belief in social mobility; a member of society from a lower socio-economic class can move to an upper class, and vice versa. However, according to research, even in the most egalitarian countries, social mobility only occurs in a middle-class range. There are sticky floors and ceilings, in which the top 1% and the lowest 10% remain. These groups are so rich and poor that neither could move to another social class. The rich are too rich to fail, and the poor are too poor to succeed.
The most ironic thing about meritocracy is that the countries with higher inequality have the highest number of people who believe in meritocracy. If they work hard and fail to succeed, they blame themselves for being lazy, untalented, and stupid. They believe that the generational billionaire worked hard to be where he is, even though he might not have worked a single day in his entire life.
A supporter of the billionaire would argue that his ancestors worked hard to amass all that wealth that they passed down to him. While that might be true (if we don’t question where the wealth came from), it defeats the purpose of a modern, civilized society. What is the point of living in a society if everyone only cares about themselves and their blood relations? We might as well devolve into tribal cavemen. The entire point of civilized society, no matter what shape it takes (city, nation, country), was so that everyone could help each other and grow together. The only growth, however, is done by a minority who reap the fruits of the labor done by the majority.
We need a better system. A system that does not allow the accumulation of wealth. Instead of equal opportunities, we need a system of true equality.