Meritocracy in America (Essay Sample)

Meritocracy in America
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Meritocracy in America
Meritocracy is a leadership system based on choosing skillful and talented people who deserve it rather than selecting the wealthy and privileged ones (Mijs, 2021). Such a political and social structure is considered fair and equal to everyone since people are rewarded for their achievements and not for their social status. Some people believe that meritocracy is just a delusion that increases inequality in American society. Usually, America is viewed as a land of opportunities. Many people around the round wish to come to America in search of green pasture. However, currently, the country is far behind practicing meritocracy, which rewards citizens for their achievements because of the class system in the country.
The class system in America plays a huge role in which those with higher social class status, the wealthy ones, have easy access to jobs and opportunities compared to the lower classes (Petersen, 2020). An example of this is the upper class in America. A small group of people has a large amount of money and makes up only one percent of the population. The previous political system led to the struggles that citizens in America are currently experiencing when looking for a rewarding job and retaining one. This is due to harassment and discrimination in the workforce, unequal pay, and it also led to the loss of business opportunities. In most cases, those ranked high in leadership and executives see merit in those who look particularly like themselves. Instead of promoting people with capabilities and unique thinkers, the meritocracy in America stagnates in existing stereotypes around gender, race, and wealth.
The systems go against the culture of value that the youths seem to enjoy. The generation gap has made the young generation focus on their values in society, and they seem to accuse the older generations of reducing the quality of life in America. The meritocracy in America rewards those that are already ahead in terms of social status and wealth, rather than selecting the best from all ranks. The education sector has not been left out either. For example, at Harvard, 45% of the students are from wealthy families (Petersen, 2020). The sorting criteria of standardized test scores, initially created to be unbiased, track the education and wealth levels of the students’ parents. In addition, the racial income gap