Meritocracy?

A meritocracy is a very attractive form of government to me, and I believe it is attractive to others in this course as well. It seems the most “fair” among the systems, as long as it is allowed to work in an environment that fosters equality. To some, America’s government claims to be a meritocracy not far from Aristotle’s view of distributive justice. Aristotle’s view that justice is a mean and a “zero sum game” is not a view held in common by many Americans, but the most who believe that America strives to be a meritocracy support his view of distributive justice. Every person who is virtuous and hard working deserves more than those individuals who do not.

The major flaw in meritocracies is inequality of opportunity. For example, if a person has a desire to go to graduate school, they are going to have an easier time attending the more expensive schools without the use of scholarships. In contrast, a less wealthy individual will have to work harder to get into the same school because they must make the grades that merit a large scholarship, which the wealthy individual need not make. In this case the wealthy individual has the advantage, so the system would seem to be unmeritocratic. The distribution of justice is unequal, because the individual who works harder is suffering an injustice.

There is an element of meritocracy unaccounted for in this argument, and that is the right of the one who originally made the money. Most likely, the ancestor, be it recent or remote, made the money by means appropriate to meritocracy. Of course this is not always the case, but generally when there is wealth in a family someone worked diligently to acquire it. Because they worked and earned the money, it is their right to do with it what they seem fit, according to meritocracy. If their wish is to give their descendents an advantage over others in the future, then they have a right to do so.

According to Aristotle, the individual who receives the money would most likely not merit it because they did nothing to earn it other than being born. They must also earn their goods by their own means. Currently in America, the advantage is certainly with wealthy, and I doubt that in many times throughout history that the advantage has been with the poor. According to a meritocracy, is it the right of the individuals who worked hard to secure a possibly un-merited advantage for their descendants? Aristotle’s meritocracy would say no, but the American version of meritocracy has decided that it is their right.