Meritocracy And Social Value

Meritocracy refers to a society in which individuals of status, wealth, and income are assigned their status through competition (merit). In other words, if you have a Masters Degree in Social Work you have been given more ?merit? than a bus driver has. The USA and many countries determine status through educational merits. For example, a medical doctor is assigned great merit in this country. Doctors are as close to God as you can get no matter their ability. The diploma hanging on their office wall defines them.

You are defined by the merits you have earned. Sports is still one of the few bastions left in life that doesn?t necessarily define participants by their educational accomplishments. Their talent is their merit. Michael Jordon, though he did attend North Carolina University, was defined by his superb accomplishments on the basketball floor. Today, more entry-level players of basketball, baseball, and a few other sports are coming straight out of high school. So, there is still hope for individuals that possess prolific talents in the sports arena.

There has been a time in this country when education was not the definitive criterion for success, or at least what we as a culture view as success. In the late 1950s and sixties a high school diploma meant a great deal in the employment world. A high school diploma could open economic doors into the industrial world, farming communities, retail management, and even the literary world. Today, no such luck exists. A high school diploma will put you at the low end of the economic scale. After all, you have earned no merits.

Go to any university in the United States and ask an advisor what degree you should shoot for and they will tell you without hesitation that you must not stop at a Bachelors, unless you?re interested in being a nurse. They will tell you to plan on going for a postgraduate degree if you?re truly interested in earning above poverty level. A bachelor?s degree in today?s meritocratic system is valued just slightly higher than a high school diploma. For example, if you are working in the human services field, say mental health, entry level employees with a bachelor?s degree earn less than many entry level employees working in core industrial jobs

As mentioned earlier, nursing degrees hold much more value than other degrees. An Associate?s Degree in Nursing will gain a much higher recognition than most Bachelors and Masters Degrees. Why? Nurses are valued much more highly in this country, deservedly so I might add, than other professions. A nursing degree holds merit. Next to medical doctors, some ministers, and CEOs, nurses are a valued commodity in our meritocracy.

What college did you attend, another factor in our meritocracy. Many lawyers who claim with great pride that they attended Harvard or Yale earn jobs at the big law firms in New York or Philadelphia. A degree from Indiana University?s Law School could earn you a job with a local law firm handling divorce cases. A degree from Harvard, Yale, Navy Academy, and the Army Academy could earn you the Presidency (along with a couple of hundred million dollars).

We indeed are a democracy, but we have allowed classism and meritocracy to rule our culture of work and our culture of poverty. There is no reversing this system. It is embedded and deeply rooted in the upper economic levels of our society. We have an unfortunate case of ?I?m just a?? in this country. I?m just a taxi driver, I?m just a secretary, and I?m just truck driver. We have created pejoratives out of titles that once held meaning and value. If you choose to succeed in our world today, you must join the meritocratic system or by tickets to the Antarctic.