Meritocracy: Myth or Reality? | Teen Ink

Meritocracy: Myth or Reality?

May 30, 2017
By Anonymous

Imagine you’re the boss of a brand new company who needs the utmost elite workers. You have two men applying for the same position.One is wealthy, living the “high class life” but works slowly and with little effort. The other is poor but works diligently and has more of the abilities needed for this particular job, Who would you choose? Obviously the second man. Meritocracy is a reality, proven with the fact that if a person perseveres and works hard, they will be more successful. Working hard and persevering through projects and doing more in life, can lead one to a higher position but not because of personal wealth, but because of the hard work and effort they put in. Meritocracy is true for many people; if one has a job and they work every day, doing  regular hours, and doing as much as they can, showing they can do any job, they will more likely be rewarded with higher positions. People earn the positions and rankings they have because of the abilities they have attained.


When one writes an application for a job it’s showing abilities, flaws, and other special skills, to put them in the right position. This isn’t based on wealth, it’s based on abilities and willingness to work.  Persevering through problems and finding ways to solve them takes hard work and dedication. Although some people get higher placed jobs just because they’re the next qualified person to handle the job, it still holds true that they must have the ability needed to do the specified job correctly.


President Trump worked hard through campaigning to show people he could do the job of being president, Hillary Clinton also ran, working hard through campaigning to get the same position, but in the end it was up to the people and votes to see who could do the job better. Trump wasn’t nominated because of his wealth, but what he had to offer seemed better to people than what Hillary had. Meritocracy allows people with greater abilities to have the positions they deserve, and even those that have less of an ability still have a place somewhere in a ranking.


If a group of people were put as the elite group of the government based on personal wealth, there would be misunderstandings on how everything works, and how different things happen. If people are just ranked on wealth instead of ability, there could be a completely under qualified person running the government, which could lead to turmoil. Granted, there could be high ranked people with both ability and wealth, but the ability of a person over rules their wealth.


Even though women don’t have as equal opportunities and have to work harder for their position, America is becoming more and more equal since women gained the right to get jobs, vote, and even run for president. Women have an equal chance to go up for a job or have control because of abilities. There are women that are bosses, CEOs, Principals, supervisors, etc, that have all earned the jobs they have. Being a woman myself, I feel that we can get any of the same jobs as men with enough effort and ability. As long as women keep working hard for their jobs, and proving their abilities, they can make an even greater breakthrough.


Meritocracy just makes sense. Having people ranked based on abilities rather than wealth. The ability of a person is much more valued than of their wealth. Having people with the needed abilities is the most important part of a government, not their wealth.



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