| Description |
viii, 481 pages ; 25 cm |
| Contents |
Homo hierarchicus -- Family power -- Nepotism, patronage, venality -- Plato and the philosopher kings -- China and the examination state -- The chosen people -- The golden ladder -- Europe and the career open to talent -- Britain and the intellectual aristocracy -- The United Sates and the republic of merit -- The measurement of merit -- The meritocractic revolution -- Girly swots -- Against meritocracy: The revolt on the left -- The corruption of the meritocracy -- Against meritocracy: The revolt on the right -- Asia rediscovers meritocracy -- Conclusion: Renewing meritocracy. |
| Summary |
Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birth. While this initially seemed like a novel concept, by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? In The Aristocracy of Talent, esteemed journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge traces the history of meritocracy forged by the politicians and officials who introduced the revolutionary principle of open competition, the psychologists who devised methods for measuring natural mental abilities, and the educationalists who built ladders of educational opportunity. He looks outside western cultures and shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. Wooldridge also shows how meritocracy has now become corrupted and argues that the recent stalling of social mobility is the result of failure to complete the meritocratic revolution. Rather than abandoning meritocracy, he says, we should call for its renewal. -- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Subject |
Social mobility.
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Ability.
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Merit (Ethics)
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Merit (Ethics) -- Economic aspects.
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| ISBN |
9781510768611 (hardcover) |
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1510768610 (hardcover) |
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