Meritocracy…. Giving life your all!

In a recent article, Economics.com stated “The United States likes to think of itself as the very embodiment of meritocracy: a country where people are judged on their individual abilities rather than their family connections.” We’re trying to eliminate economic distinctions through such vehicles as NCLB, vouchers and the like.

Although the past couple of decades have seen a huge increase in inequality in America, the aristocracy in Britain appears to be in an uproar as if threatened by the potential of social mobility due to the vary acts and reforms they have instituted over the years. Anger at Prince Charles and arguing about the meaning of a word seems so mundane when in fact it appears that it is still “who you know” not what you know in their society. I question whether true meritocracy, as ascribed by Mr. Taylor, is obtainable. Civil service exams do put things on a more even keel since traditional qualifications are waning, however, the plum jobs are still obtained through networking and certain elements of society will remain on the outwork until and if they can rise through the ranks.