The War on Meritocracy

Instead of blaming problems on centuries-old events, encourage young people to work hard.

One of the most fashionable progressive ideas on American college campuses today is that of institutional inequity: the idea that racism, sexism, homophobia, and other acts of discrimination are less the work of individuals, and more vast structural inequalities built directly into our institutions. Perpetuated by schools, police departments, and governments of all shapes and sizes, this institutional inequity is inescapable because it is so ingrained in our systems. These systems of oppression remain a fact of life, delivering relentless beatdowns again and again to marginalized people and destroying their chances of getting to a better life.

As this bleak view of our nation has gained adherents among the campus left and beyond, it has become the weapon of choice in a war on meritocracy and on free will at large. Institutional inequities are so great and so insuperable, this view’s proponents argue, that members of marginalized groups are destined to occupy society’s underclass and therefore ought not to indulge the fantasy that they—not an alphabet soup of systems of oppression—have the ultimate control over the trajectories of their lives. Meritocracy is a myth, the American dream a cruel impossibility.

This emerging fixture of modern progressive thought, however, is false and destructive. It denies the evident truth that human agency grants individuals the capacity to succeed and overcome despite manifestly unjust institutions. Characterizing agency as a myth or a fantasy is devastating to the ostensible victims of institutional oppression. Because the boot of “The Man” will press upon your throat to keep you down no matter what you do, these victims are told, working hard and cultivating personal excellence are futile and imperceptible acts of rebellion in which it is pointless to engage.

In an article for the Atlantic, Melinda Anderson, a proponent of this progressive view, argues that the “myth of meritocracy hurts kids of color.” Believing that hard work, motivation, and grit is a pathway to success, she says, “can lead disadvantaged adolescents to act out and engage in risky behavior,” since these students cannot square the rosy portrait of a meritocratic society with their status as victims of inequitable treatment. To support this claim, Anderson cites a recent study showing that sixth-graders who more strongly endorsed the “American dream” and the notion of America as the land of opportunity “reported [having] lower self-esteem and [engaging in] more risky behaviors” during the subsequent year.