
The Myth of Meritocracy - clintonb
https://michellelessly.com/2019/03/19/the-myth-of-meritocracy/
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js2
Recent discussion:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19415309](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19415309)

See also “Down with meritocracy” by Michael Young:

[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/29/comment](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/29/comment)

(Submitted to HN several times:
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=Down%20with%20meritocracy&sort...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=Down%20with%20meritocracy&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story))

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throwawaysea
> Is the outrage over the college admissions scandal about the actions of rich
> parents and corrupt officials, or that it might force us to confront the
> myth of meritocracy?

What do the actions of a small number of people in the admissions story have
to do with this much broader claim that meritocracy is a myth?

Per [https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-
admis...](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-
and-testing-bribery-scheme) there are 50 people charged thus far, which
includes not just parents of students but also administrators, athletic
coaches, etc. This spans a set of universities that in aggregate admit tens of
thousands of students per year. So this entire story seems like a blip and is
not motivation enough to rethink the notion of a meritocracy in general.

> We often fail to recognize that merit comes from privilege. Personal
> tutoring, SAT and ACT test prep courses, access to good schools, and taking
> expensive AP exams doesn’t indicate academic potential, just wealth.

I don't think success displayed with assistance from tutoring/coursework/etc.
can be said to be a result of _just_ wealth. It still takes time, focus, and
dedication to turn that into a good result - and these are traits that not
everyone displays.

I also don't think the existence of such resources diminishes the notion of a
meritocracy in general. There are students who didn't attend great schools or
have test prep tutoring or attend prep who have good scores nonetheless. I
knew many such students personally, and the fact that they do exist indicates
merit is more than "just wealth" since there IS a path to good scores even
without those resources.

Lastly, I am not sure that wealth should be viewed negatively in a broader
conversation about merit. Often times, parents work hard to save up and give
their children amenities and advantages that better their life. For many
parents, that is what they exclusively work for. The meritocracy is still
present in those situations - you can see it over a broader time scale, if you
zoom out and and apply the concept across multiple generations. And that's not
a problem for me - I think parents are allowed to help their children succeed
in this world.

