The Myth of Meritocracy

Recent discussion:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19415309

See also “Down with meritocracy” by Michael Young:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/29/comment

(Submitted to HN several times: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=Down%20with%20meritocracy&sort...)

> 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... 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.