Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement.
- noun A group of leaders or officeholders selected on the basis of individual ability or achievement.
- noun Leadership by such a group.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A form of social system in which power goes to those with superior intellects.
- noun The belief that rulers should be chosen for their superior abilities and not because of their wealth or birth.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Rule by
merit , andtalent . By extension, now often used to describe a type ofsociety wherewealth ,income , andsocial status are assigned through competition.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the belief that rulers should be chosen for their superior abilities and not because of their wealth or birth
- noun a form of social system in which power goes to those with superior intellects
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Firstly, the term meritocracy has been redefined since it was originally conceived, and is now taken to be a positive term.
Can someone please define meritocracy for Gordon Brown? 2007
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My late father, the sociologist Michael Young, coined the word "meritocracy" - but as a term of opprobrium rather than approval.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph Toby Young 2012
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But if the meritocracy is a myth, it doesn't exist ... and I think it does, though quite imperfectly.
Special Guest Post: Zetta Elliott on the Myth of Meritocracy 2010
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An attempt at a meritocracy is a step forward from wholesale exclusion based on race and culture.
Special Guest Post: Zetta Elliott on the Myth of Meritocracy 2010
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So why are some people taking certain percentages in certain groups to be signs of total oppression and evidence that the meritocracy is a sham?
ccfinlay: And Now For Something A Bit Different ccfinlay 2007
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A meritocracy is the backbone of any successful institution; performance -- both individual and organizational -- is doomed without one.
Wall Street's record-breaking paystubs: Pay for performance? Really? Jena McGregor 2010
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The stick of meritocracy is only valid till the extent wherein employees of these companies can have a sincere belief that its not a pure political game.
A Theory of Investment Banking, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009
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You're suggesting that giving up on the myth of meritocracy is different from giving up on a meritocracy.
Special Guest Post: Zetta Elliott on the Myth of Meritocracy 2010
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This myth of meritocracy is so entrenched that very few are aware of it.
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"I think baseball's meritocracy is one of its most admirable features even now as, in our larger country, we demonize the contributions of the very immigrant groups that baseball has wholly embraced."
Ken Burns Adds to Baseball History with The Tenth Inning 2010
dudu commented on the word meritocracy
a social system that give other people opportunities, advantage and chance based on their skills and abilitites rather than their credibility, seniority or wealth.
December 11, 2006
alguien commented on the word meritocracy
I can think of many areas of society where a meritocracy is desperately needed.
March 28, 2007