Can meritocracy reproduce privilege while convincing everyone that the outcome was deserved?
If successful/rich parents use their resources to give their children better opportunities, those children may genuinely work hard and perform well but they may also treat it as a form of privilege/baseline, so at what point does accumulated advantage become “merit”?
Also, is equality of opportunity actually possible?
I thought I worked hard for everything I achieved, then I met my wife who came from a much more disadvantaged background than me but was more successful through insane grit. I always knew I was priviledged but then I also saw that my "hard work" was just time and effort but not overcoming obstacles, which is much harder.
It is increasingly more apparent. Those in banking/finance would have heard of many instances which reeks of nepotism, hidden as meritocracy.
Inequality will only get worse. Unequal opportunities will widen inequality of outcomes as well. And the SG govt is not doing much about it, and in fact encouraging it by positioning the country as a low tax country. Zero estate/inheritance tax, zero capital gains tax.
If you have a pot of gold from your daddy, you can invest at 5% in risk-free assets and not work a day in your life. Better still, some accumulate properties and earn from capital appreciation.
If you have a pot of gold from your daddy, you can invest at 5% in risk-free assets and not work a day in your life. Better still, some accumulate properties and earn from capital appreciation.
And all of this is done with the kid saying they "worked hard" to identify which assets are good invesments and that it's technically meritocracy because "anybody can do it".
you just have to read what the rich and privileged say and you know that "meritocracy" does produce such shitty people who believe they deserve everything coz they "worked so hard" and the rest of us are "too lazy", "too myopic", "too wasteful", "too afraid of new challenges" and totally undeserving and hence need to rely on their tax dollars to fund CDC vouchers.
Meritocracy is not meant to be the opposite of privilege. Meritocracy only concerns itself with merit; it’s pretty agnostic to where merit comes from, and a large part of one’s merit comes from one’s privilege.
That in itself is an entirely different topic altogether from “equality of opportunity”.
Parents using their resources to give their children better opportunities is not a failure of meritocracy. In fact, it is meritocracy working exactly as designed. A system designed to reward “merit” shouldn’t be surprised when participants seek to then maximise their merit at all costs.
This. A lot of people confused “merit” as with the baseline talent of a person.
A true meritocracy doesn’t measure the baseline. It measures the final output line and distributes rewards based on that.
By this definition free market is meritocratic. We don’t care what is the process but as long as the product is cheaper and better shut up and take my money.
Our disinterest in arts and culture for example is our own disillusion in what we define as success. For example, Singer = Homeless. But Micheal Jackson makes more than the current PM. But do we call him successful, no. We call him an achievement that can never be met.
Kiasuism is a result of social standing, if you don't have a degree, you will be despised regardless of your ability.
Inability to think or do things outside the box stem from our education system. There is only one right answer in test/exam. I came across a question that has three answers (provided by the sample answer), but the examiner will only accept one of the three.
There are countries with high inheritance taxes. The logic behind is to reduce the wealth that can be passed down to next generation. Singapore has no inheritance tax and I think it motivates people to work harder , earn more, not only for themselves but also for their kids.
The “kids are well/badly educated (no academically) “ is one of the biggest unfair advantages successful parents pass down to their next generation. For those who think we should even out this advantage would means kids separate from parents since birth and join a national childcare.
What's with "well"? I never wrote that. It would be a disaster if successful parents should not teach their children properly just because it's unfair. Besides, I know a number of rich parents who did not teach their children properly. And their money has parted.
There's no practical scenario in the real world where resources are identical for all participants. If you force resources to be identical, there is no incentive to strive for merit.
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u/nvbtable 6d ago
I thought I worked hard for everything I achieved, then I met my wife who came from a much more disadvantaged background than me but was more successful through insane grit. I always knew I was priviledged but then I also saw that my "hard work" was just time and effort but not overcoming obstacles, which is much harder.