Meritocracy (merit, from Latin mereō, and -cracy, from Ancient Greek κράτοςkratos 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than wealth, social class,[1] or race. Advancement in such a system is based on performance, as measured through examination or demonstrated achievement. Although the concept of meritocracy has existed for centuries, the first known use of the term was by sociologist Alan Fox in the journal Socialist Commentary in 1956.[2] It was then popularized by sociologist Michael Dunlop Young, who used the term in his dystopian political and satirical book The Rise of the Meritocracy in 1958.[3][4][5] While the word was coined and popularized as a pejorative, its usage has meliorated. Today, the term is often utilised to refer to social systems, in which personal advancement and success are primarily attributed to an individual's capabilities and merits.[6]
^"meritocracy". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
^Littler, Jo (2018). Against Meritocracy: Culture, Power, and Myths of Mobility. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-138-88954-5.
^Fox, Margalit (25 January 2002). "Michael Young, 86, Scholar; Coined, Mocked 'Meritocracy'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
^Mijs, Jonathan J.B.; Savage, Mike (2020). "Meritocracy, Elitism and Inequality". The Political Quarterly. 91 (2): 397–404. doi:10.1111/1467-923X.12828. hdl:1765/135370.
^Sachs-Cobbe, Benjamin (2023). "Recent Work on Meritocracy". Analysis. 83 (1): 171–185. doi:10.1093/analys/anac091. hdl:10023/28168.
^Chang, C.H. (2017). "How meritocracy is defined today?: Contemporary aspects of meritocracy". Recent Issues in Sociological Research. 10 (1): 112–121. doi:10.14254/2071-789X.2017/10-1/8.
Meritocracy (merit, from Latin mereō, and -cracy, from Ancient Greek κράτος kratos 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic...
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be impulse buying, status consumption etc. Meritocracy is a primary cause of status anxiety. Meritocracy is a society that believes that only the talented...
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technical knowledge. Technocracy follows largely in the tradition of other meritocracy theories and assumes full state control over political and economic issues...
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combination of a strong, soft authoritarian government with an emphasis on meritocracy is known as the "Singapore model", and is regarded as a key factor behind...
worldwide claim to be meritocracies—that is, their societies exclusively distribute resources on the basis of merit. The term "meritocracy" was coined by Michael...
other areas as well. Equal opportunity is central to the concept of meritocracy. There are two major types of equality: Formal equality: individual merit-based...
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