Meritocratic Blind Spot

The meritocracy is one of the main pillars safeguarding the hierarchy of the current status quo. It's the idea that people should be rewarded based on their merits, and that there should be no obstacles for people to succeed on that basis. This sounds like an attractive and just proposition, but in this post I'll try to dispel that attractiveness.

At the basis of the meritocratic ideal is the much heard and discussed "equality of opportunity." I think to say that we're far from reaching that level playing-field is uncontroversial; we're not all the same and all start from very different beginnings due to personal circumstance. But the question is if, in a hypothetical ideal world where everyone really has the same opportunities, a fully realized meritocracy would lead to a just society. I think the answer is no; I think the ideal itself is seriously flawed. And that's even before we ask the question if it's even realistic or useful to to imagine a world where everyone has an equal chance to "make it."

The reason why I don't think a meritocracy will result in a just world has to do with the attitudes towards "success," which we see all around us even today. In a society where people can rise based on their individual efforts and talents, those who land on top come to believe that their success is their own doing, that it's because of their individual merits and efforts alone. And by implication those who fall behind can come to believe that it's because of their individual failings alone, especially when society at large reminds them of their failure on a daily basis with senseless references to their own bootstraps.

The dark side of a meritocracy, even a fully realized one, lies in the complete disregard for all the factors of circumstance and chance; those who succeed are just lucky, they were at the right place at the right time, were born to the right parents in the right zip code, knew the right people and so on. Take Jeff Bezos, who started his online book store at exactly the right time; when asked he admits that if he would try to make it in the online retail business today, he would most probably fail. But that's not even the best example to illustrate how this measure of success is fundamentally flawed. The biggest problem with the meritocratic model of rewards is that it's based entirely on consumerism and the capitalist economy, which makes it a particularly bad gauge for what makes a "good," "just" or "moral" society.

In 2021 the world's most successful and richest soccer player was Cristiano Ronaldo with an estimated net worth of $500 million and a yearly income of 26.52 GBP or $34.6 million. He happens to be very talented and worked hard to become better at a sport that's loved by millions, maybe even billions of people around the world. That's just good luck; if he would have been a very talented ping pong player he wouldn't have reached these levels of wealth, appreciation or fame. Now compare that to the best paid high school teachers; in America this price goes to the city of Napa, California where teachers are paid a salary of $99,170. I don't think I have to ask whose contribution to society, the soccer player or the teacher, has more worth. We can replace the teacher with nurses, doctors, garbage collectors, cleaners; they would all best the soccer player when it comes to contributing to the common good.

If that's not convincing enough, let's look at the world's richest and most successful casino owner; Sheldon Adelson whose net worth was an estimated $29.8 Billion; I use past tense because he passed away in 2021. What does it say about our meritocracy when the one who satisfies people's wish to visit slot-machines and roulette-tables is rewarded and valued more than the ones who satisfy people's need for education, healthcare and a clean environment? Adelson was also heavily involved in the world of politics as the largest donor to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, and after passing away in January 2021, he was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem; no such honors or benefits for your local garbage collector.

The meritocracy is linked at the hip to the capitalist free market economy and confuses real societal worth with commercial success. Not only that; it leaves us, even in a perfect meritocracy, with questions that aren't answerable, at least not easily. Take two violin players, one of them naturally gifted and one who has to practice 12 hours a day, but they both produce equally good music; which one is more deserving of our praise? My gut feeling says the one who makes every effort, the one that works hard, but is that true? Can we even make that judgement? If the end result is the same, shouldn't we value them the same? Like with so many things, I think the main flaw in this idealism is in its individualist approach. During the pandemic we've seen a lot of rhetorical praise for workers who are at the front-line, the "essential" workers who kept society going, often at great risk to their own health. There seemed to be a general consensus over their worth to society as a whole. As a whole. Their contribution to the common good was praised with words, but ultimately left unrewarded; that, if anything, is proof of the meritocratic blind spot.

This post is inspired by the works of professor Michael Sandel, the political philosopher who wrote [The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good?] There's a lot to say about the subject, and of course there's a lot to be said for the benefits of hard work, effort and talent; those are all good and benefit individuals as well as society. The question is if it leads to better individuals and a better society if we pair those with notions of winning and losing, success and failure and rewards and punishment. Although the answer to that question may not become clear with only a superficial examination, at the very least I think there's a serious discussion to be had. There are many videos on YouTube with Sandel explaining his views on meritocracy, many discussions as well with other smart people who don't agree with him, so check them out as well. Here's a monologue however, one with Spanish subtitles as well.

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