Meritocracy

As the suffix "-cracy" implies, meritocracy is strictly speaking a system of government based on rule by ability (merit) rather than by wealth or social position. In this context, "merit" means roughly intelligence plus effort. However, the word "meritocracy" is now often used to describe a type of society where wealth, income, and social status are assigned through competition, on the assumption that the winners do indeed deserve (merit) their resulting advantage. As a result, the word has acquired a connotation of Social Darwinism, and is used to describe aggressively competitive societies, with large inequality of income and wealth, contrasted with egalitarian societies.

Individual proponents

Confucius

"In teaching there should be no distinction of classes."

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