Myth Of Meritocracy

America, known as the nation of chance and flexibility, where any man or lady can come and have a reasonable shot at accomplishing the coveted objective usually alluded to as "The American Dream." To many, effectively getting the American dream implies having a steady 2 parent family, with money related success, and rich in political and social opportunities. This "fantasy" be that as it may, is all the more effectively accomplished by specific individuals over others, and in spite of the fact that America prides itself on being the place where there is the "opportunity" and "correspondence", those words serve all the more unequivocally as a wellspring of false reverence and incongruity. One's race, economic

To Hayes the failure of meritocracy comes from its focus on equality of opportunity over equality of outcome. Thus, as inequality escalated, the meritocracy ended up becoming so entrenched and isolated that it is no longer even much of a meritocracy. Hayes cites his elite NYC alma mater, Hunter College High School, as a prime example. The only admissions requirement is passing its entrance exam, yet the percentage students from minority and low income backgrounds has been steadily declining due to the expensive test taking prep courses that more affluent students can afford. Meanwhile the increasingly wealthy “meritocratic elites” isolate themselves from the rest of us in the 99% by living and traveling privately – in gated communities, exclusive clubs and resorts, corporate jets, etc., blaming the masses rather than themselves for societal woes.

The definition of the “American Dream” by James Truslow Adams, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” this means that no matter your social class, dilemmas, or circumstances at birth one will overcome and make their dream come true. This is a misconception brought upon by us in order to bring more workers to justify a social class clearly. Many immigrants come to the US thinking there will be a better life for them. It is the place where dreams come through. They know it will not be easy and are willing to put the hard work and

When most people think of the American Dream they often visualize the typical white fence, the two children, and an overall perfect family. When people think of the American Dream they think of the dream jobs which consist of being a doctor, lawyer, or a widely known talk show host. The people who have the voice determine what is ideal in society and what isn’t. They try to sell you this pitch that the American Dream is obtainable and what you put in to the system, you get out; This is also know as meritocracy. The thought of achieving the American Dream through success and social mobility is the misinformed interpretation what the upper middle class likes to say, however its easier to say that when climbing the class ladder is a lot more difficult when born into a low advantaged family. It is absolutely impossible to reach the American Dream unless you are among the wealthy. Circumstances that work against an individual only further hinders any opportunity that person may have to “obtain” the American Dream. Negative factors not working in your favor will most likely determine your undesirable future and having a role model, such as Oprah, who seemingly embodies the American Dream, will lead to the unrealistic dream that her status is actually attainable. Some of the key elements we consider essential to achieving success, are now impractical and misleading, proving the many flaws in our American Dream that make it impossible to obtain.

The article I found in the LRC this week is “Lost in the Meritocracy” by Walter Kirn. This article was originally published in The Atlantic Monthly in 2005. In this piece, Kirn details his experiences as a minority from a lower socioeconomic background attending an Ivy League institution (Princeton). Kirn distills through personal anecdote how the knowledge and skills of a meritocracy mindset led to his achievement. Perhaps his most profound evaluation of the higher education ‘class’ system he has found himself in is as follows:

In the essay The Merits of Meritocracy David Brooks mentions, that meritocracy is the social system that gives opportunities and advantages to people on the basis of their abilities rather then reasons such as wealth or seniority. He believes that people more or less deserve what they get, those people who do not work hard or build up their skills should not expect rewards. He also argued that in school and in the workplace Americans need to focus on achievement, dedication, continuous improvement, and hard work. People have to succeed through there performance: those who work hard should win praise those who don’t work hard will suffer the consequences. A persons country of origin should be no excuse at all.

The 1900s were full of many events that were induced by discrimination. For the greater part of the 20th century, America was not a meritocracy. The definition of meritocracy is when someone is treated based on how hard they have worked. Many people of color did not live in a world with meritocracy. Mexicans saw meritocracy as an unrealistic view. The dominant race usually treated other races as inferior, based off the color of skin. For this reason, many minorities suffered from discrimination and injustices. Many Americans violated the Fourteenth Amendment which gives citizens the right of not getting deprived of privileges. Two scenarios, the Lemon Grove Incident and the Mendez case point to a pattern of institutionalized discrimination

Meritocracy is the “idea that positions are earned through hard work and personal achievement and through no resources other than one’s own” (Shapiro 78). This is both an unproved and a false collective belief which leads to the creation of the term the meritocracy myth. Many Americans have fallen short of furthering themselves economically because of this ideology and were raised to believe in a stringent model of meritocracy even though life has proven how false and misleading this ideal truly is. It has been proven through examples such as the top 1%’s existence and the fact that “95% of children born to parents in the bottom 6% of wealth holders will end up poor as adults” (McNamee and Miller 96). On the other hand of the spectrum, many Americans use the term economic inequality quite frequently when talking about politics in social affairs. However not many grasp either of these terms correctly when using them with this context. Economic inequality is displayed by individuals’ contrasting situational positions within the economic distribution of income and wealth. Examples of this inequality fall into categories of either income, pay, or wealth. There are many scholarly papers that demonstrate the social issues created by these two terms and their relation to our society. The meritocracy myth is the main underlying cause to the social issue of economic inequality.

The racial income gap illustrates that the United States is not a meritocracy society. A meritocracy society would be an area where everyone no matter what color or background they are from have the chance to succeed based on their own ability. Although it is certainly appealing and a magnificent way of viewing our society, in reality no society can ever truly function as a meritocracy and therefore having no control at birth and the environment where we grow up, and who we get surrounded with puts major races, especially in the United States in disadvantage, a country that is far from meritocratic compared to other nation.

While individuals from different races, states, social classes, etc. All debate about the American Dream and its opportunities, the discussion about the exact definition as to what the American Dream remains silent. “The ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American.” (Dictionary.com). That quote is the official definition of the American Dream. However, while individuals would prefer to bicker and debate how to carry out the American Dream, they fail to realize just exactly what it is. In politics, Democrats and Republicans hail their ways and versions as to achieve the American Dream

Do Americans believe meritocracy exists in America? Do talented people who work hard earning the reward that they deserve? Do talented people have enough challenges for their promotion that they merit? Living in the United States, many people think meritocracy exists because people expect about the opportunities to learn, to work, to earn, and to deserve. People also think they may have chances to earn what they deserve because the trusting of meritocracy. However, talented people do not receive any adequate reward as they expect. Meritocracy does not exist in America and becomes a myth for many debates. Moreover, most talented people in America who work hard still have fewer resources, less promotion,

People from all over the world come to the United States in pursuit of the American Dream, or the belief that anyone can move upwards in society with hard work. The belief that an individual can change their status is termed social mobility (Southworth, 22). However, it is clear that simply being American does not mean everyone has equal social mobility, social stratification exists. Social stratification refers to a hierarchy where people are ranked based on factors such as their class, race, family they were born into, and gender (Southworth, 21). These factors affect an individual's life chances, or the ability to obtain education, health, and income. Better life chances are more conducive to social mobility. Historically, class, or one’s

The modern world is based around the idea that we are all essentially equal in terms of rights and opportunities. The idea of equality first took hold about two hundred years ago in the United States of America. In 1776 this country had a revolution that changed the world, the new democracy abolished the rigid aristocratic hierarchy that existed in Europe for thousands of years. This basic sense of equality energized America but it also gave the wrong impression that no matter your social standing you had the same opportunities as everybody. As the years progressed we have found this idea to be not exactly true, and the social background of a person does have repercussions on his opportunities. In our current society

Graduating college, being hired at your dream job, marrying the love of your life, owning your own home, and having children to most that is the what the American Dream is. That version can be obtained with hard work and dedication. However, if you are a minority acquiring that takes more hard work and dedication than it does the average non-minority. The American Dream is something everyone wants to achieve, but the path to get there looks different from one race to another. Many non-minorities are born with a head start in the race of obtaining the American Dream, and that is their skin color. Yes, minorities can have good jobs, own houses etc., but it is very rare because of the hurdles they must jump over to achieve their goals. As a minority, my definition of the American dream is being able to live the best life possible, not settling for a good life because my opportunities were limited due to the color of my skin, I also believe that non-minorities and minorities American Dreams differ.

The American dream seems to be all people are taught while growing up, how America is the land of opportunity and if you truly want something you can get it. At some point during our childhood we all might have believed that the sky was our limit, when in reality it is far beyond our reach and wish it was that simple. For decades minorities have never been at the same pedestal as white americans, they are taught that if you want to make it in this world you need to work twice as hard to get half as far. The American dream now needs to be redefine where it takes in consideration how race can be an advantage and a disadvantage to others. Therefore making it impossible to survive. However, people choose to continue to believe that the American dream is accessible to all; when in fact there seems to be many obstacles one has to face when striving for the American dream for starters being a minority in a place where people are not as welcoming does have an impact towards reaching one’s goal. Poverty has affected education, thus making it unfair seeing one student is striving for their basic needs the other is risk free of all economical hardship, but are considered equally educated is cruel to see one’s struggles as an understatement. Now, if the American dreamer is a black man and is suffering from poverty he is more likely to fail vs. a privileged white man who knows nothing of these challenges.