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A belief in meritocracy is not only false: it’s bad for you
Holding meritocracy as a value
The 'even playing field' metaphor is used to avoid unfair inequalities based on gender, race, etc. Ironically, attempts to implement meritocracy leads to the inequalities that it aims to avoid.
This 'paradox of meritocracy' happens because adopting meritocracy as a value convinces people that they deserve what they have. They become less inclined to examine their own behaviour for signs of prejudice.
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Key Ideas
Meritocracy
Meritocracy is a leading social ideal where the rewards of life - money, power, jobs - are distributed according to skill and effort. It is often referred to as 'creating a level playing field' where players can rise to the position that fits their merit.
Meritocracy is often presented as the opposite of systems such as hereditary aristocracy, where your social position is determined by birth.
The world is not meritocratic
Most people think the world is meritocratic. 84 % of people in the UK believe that hard work is essential for getting ahead, and 69 % of Americans believe that people are rewarded for intelligence and skill.
Although this view is widely held, it is demonstrably false. Talent and the capacity for determined effort depend on one's genetic makeup and upbringing. Fortuitous circumstances figure into every success story. There are programmers as skilful as Gates who failed to become the richest person on Earth. Many have merit, but few succeed. What separates the two is luck.
Believing in meritocracy
Research in psychology and neuroscience suggests that believing in meritocracy makes people more selfish, less self-critical, and more prone to acting in discriminatory ways.
Multiple studies found that subjects who are made to believe that they had won based on skill made them more prone to be tolerant of unequal outcomes. By contrast, remembering the role of luck increased generosity.
Holding meritocracy as a value
The 'even playing field' metaphor is used to avoid unfair inequalities based on gender, race, etc. Ironically, attempts to implement meritocracy leads to the inequalities that it aims to avoid.
This 'paradox of meritocracy' happens because adopting meritocracy as a value convinces people that they deserve what they have. They become less inclined to examine their own behaviour for signs of prejudice.
Meritocracy is a false belief
As with any ideology, meritocracy justifies the status quo, explaining why people are in a specific place in the social order.
Meritocracy also offers flattery. When success is determined by merit, each win can be viewed as a reflection of one's own virtue and worth. Material wealth is viewed as personal superiority, while worldly failures become signs of individual defects and a reason why they deserve to remain there.
The flattery of meritocracy
Debates about the extent to which specific individuals are 'self-made' over the effects of various forms of 'privilege' can be very heated.
It is not just about who gets to have what, but about how individuals validate and take credit for their successes. Proposing that success is the result of 'luck' can be highly insulting and downplay the existence of individual merit.
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Environment shapes human behavior
To be successful, you need to act in an environment that favors your results rather than blocking them.
Motivation, talent, and effort do have matt...
Automate good decisions
For example, buying smaller plates can help you lose weight by deciding portion size for you. Similarly, using software to block social media sites can help overcome procrastination by putting your willpower on autopilot.
Getting in the flow of good habits
For example: you are more likely to go to the gym if it is literally on the way home from work than if the gym is only five minutes away, but in the opposite direction of your commute.
one more idea
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Beliefs As Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
What you believe influences the way you interpret events, how you feel, and how you behave. And much of the time, those beliefs turn into self-fulfilling prophecies.
Give Up Self-Limiting Beliefs
- If you believe you're too socially awkward to make friends, ask yourself "What would I be doing if I were socially savvy?" Then, use a skill called, 'acting as if.' Act as if you were a socially savvy person.
- That doesn't mean you need to be a phony. Instead, behave in a way that brings out another side of your personality.
Challenging Your Beliefs Takes Time
It's likely that everyone has a few self-limiting beliefs.
To discover yours, spend some time thinking about your potential and assessing the assumptions you make about yourself that keep you from living your dreams.
It's likely that your beliefs, rather than your lack of ability, could be the biggest hurdle.
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Key Ideas
Aristotle gave us an alternative conception of happiness
It cannot be acquired by pleasurable experiences but only by identifying and realizing our own potential, moral and creative, in our specific environments, with our particular family, friends and colleagues, and helping others to do so.