Thursday, June 02, 2005

Meritocracy- and other self-deluding fictions

Wow! Here's a great critique of the NYTimes' recent articles about class in America. Essentially, the problem with the Times writing about class is that it is itself a supremely high class institution. Usually they cover what trinkets the supremely wealthy buy and that's about the extent of their cultural analysis.
So, for the NYT, the real class division in the US isn't caused by the fact that social mobility is a thing of the past, but that the lower classes have bad habits. Essentially, it's like asking a Princeton frat boy what's wrong with the lower classes.

Best lines:
NYT: "Merit has replaced the old system of inherited privilege.... But merit, it turns out, is at least partly class-based. Parents with money, education, and connections cultivate in their children the habits the meritocracy rewards."

Response: "Well, no. Parents with connections, education, and money place their considerable resources directly at their offspring’s disposal. What results has everything to do with openly legible lines of power, and very nearly nothing to do with the cultivation of meritocracy-pleasing behavioral "habits" — as any cursory glance at the Oval Office’s present occupant or the cast of The Simple Life will instantly confirm."

Exactly. With morons like Monica Lewinsky and Paris Hilton entering the upper echelons of power, can we please drop the "meritocracy" bullshit?

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