How Meritocracy Became Self-Defeating
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Published online on June 25, 2026
Abstract
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 717, Issue 1, Page 28-46, January 2025.
Meritocracy is self-defeating. The ideals that animate meritocracy—a principled commitment to fairness and a prudent concern for the general welfare—are worthy; and meritocratic critiques of the various aristocracies that meritocracy displaced are apt. ...
Meritocracy is self-defeating. The ideals that animate meritocracy—a principled commitment to fairness and a prudent concern for the general welfare—are worthy; and meritocratic critiques of the various aristocracies that meritocracy displaced are apt. ...