Lost in the Meritocracy
The system manufactures students who are smart and talented and driven, yes, but also anxious, timid, and lost, with little intellectual curiosity and a stunted sense of purpose: trapped in a bubble of privilege, heading meekly in the same direction, great at what they’re doing but with no idea why they’re doing it.
William Deresiewicz • Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life
A meritocracy can only function through a centrally directed and rigidly planned system that measures ‘production’ and individual contributions to it. The nature of the system limits the number of ‘winners’; only the best can be boss.8
Paul Verhaeghe • What About Me?: The Struggle for Identity in a Market-Based Society
And the void below the meritocracy is far worse than
Charles Reich • The Greening of America
society will bestow its rewards upon you as long as you abandon the individual pursuit of personal fulfillment for the standardized pursuit of professional excellence.
Todd Rose • Dark Horse: Achieving Success Through the Pursuit of Fulfillment
At the top of the meritocratic ladder we have in America a generation of students who are extraordinarily bright, morally earnest, and incredibly industrious. They like to study and socialize in groups. They create and join organizations with great enthusiasm. They are responsible, safety-conscious, and mature. They feel no compelling need to rebel... See more