Meritocracy

A system in which positions, rewards, or authority are allocated according to demonstrated ability and achievement. Its central promise is that status should depend on merit rather than inherited privilege.

Credentialism: Reliance on formal qualifications as evidence of a person’s knowledge, skill, or suitability. Degrees and certificates often serve as proxies for merit in hiring and promotion.
Michael Young: A British sociologist and politician who coined “meritocracy” in a 1958 satirical work. Young’s dystopia gave the word its enduring critical force.
Social stratification: The structured ranking of people and groups into unequal social positions. Merit-based sorting can create durable hierarchies even without inherited titles.
Egalitarianism: The principle that people should have equal status, rights, or access to resources. It questions whether unequal rewards for individual merit are compatible with equality.
Standardized testing: The use of uniform examinations and scoring rules to compare test-takers. Common tests promise comparable measures of ability, while test design shapes what counts.
The Rise of the Meritocracy: Michael Young’s 1958 satirical book depicting a society governed by measured intelligence and effort. The book imagines how merit-based rule could harden into a new class system.
Educational inequality: Unequal access to educational resources, opportunities, and outcomes among groups. Unequal schooling means people compete for meritocratic rewards from unequal starting points.
Luck egalitarianism: A theory of justice that distinguishes inequalities arising from choice from those arising from brute luck. It asks whether merit deserves reward when ability and opportunity are partly unchosen.
Competitive examination: An examination used to rank candidates for limited positions or advancement. Civil-service systems use ranked exams to make selection appear independent of personal connections.
Civil service examination: A competitive test used to select or promote government employees. Modern meritocratic ideals have often been tied to replacing patronage with examination.

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