Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Meritocracy: A Qualified Defense
2026-06-25
Meritocracy is best defined in terms of three connected principles—hiring by merit, equality of opportunity, and fair reward. As a social ideal, it is popular with politicians and the general public but fiercely attacked by academics as unachievable, undesirable, or both. A first line of attack is that the arbitrariness of natural talent, combined with the formative role of the family, undermines the claim that people deserve the advantages that meritocracy might bring. A second claims that standards of merit are artificially constructed in ways that fail to track the real social value of goods and services, while enabling a highly educated elite to transmit their advantages to their children. A third asserts that a meritocratic society humiliates people who occupy low-skilled positions. This article responds to each attack, while acknowledging that meritocratic principles alone cannot serve as a full-fledged theory of social justice.