Tracking: Meritocracy

One of the stories I follow is the intensifying debate over merit as a basis for advancement. Adrian Wooldridge published a lengthy essay in Bloomberg over the weekend, “Meritocracy, Not Democracy, is the Golden Ticket to Growth.” It’s a bracing read. Colleges are slowly abandoning merit-based admissions in favor or “equity” (read, “admission for the unqualified”). The unequal outcomes of meritocratic business practices, in which the highly skilled are rewarded and the unskilled are ignored, are increasingly flagged as the cause of social distress. Thinkers like Steven Brill and David Brooks are questioning whether merit alone can keep society healthy, arguing that we must pay more attention to those left behind. I see this problem. But Wooldridge counters that destroying our ability to increase wealth will harm everyone. His new book on this theme will come out in the U.S. on June 15th, a timely offering in one of the most important debates happening in our country right now.