Thursday, 18 September 2014

Liberalism - why is Meritocracy so Important?

11:59 Posted by Unknown , , , , , , , 1 comment

The Importance of Meritocracy in Liberal Thinking 

Meritocracy is a core concept in Liberalism, so it may appear on 10 mark questions 

What is meritocracy?

RULE BY THE ABLE AND TALENTED, MERIT BEING VIEWED AS A COMBINATION OF TALENT AND HARD WORK. IT IS A CENTRAL THEME THROUGHOUT LIBERALISM AND IS IMPORTANT TO LIBERAL THINKING. 
  • Links to liberal ideas on equality - liberals do believe that individuals are born equal in a sense that they are of equal moral worth and should enjoy formal equality, however they also stress that they should be rewarded according to their different levels of talent and willingness to work
  • Links to social justice as it implies that social position and material rewards reflect the distribution of ability and effort in society at large 
  • Links to equality of opportunity because in a meritocracy, each person is given what they are due
  • Links to social mobility and flexible patterns of inequality as opposed to fixed and structural graduations in social positions and wealth seen in hierarchical system 

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