MERITOCRACY Meaning and
Definition
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A meritocracy is a social and political system in which positions of power, influence, and privilege are allocated based on an individual's abilities, qualifications, and achievements rather than their social background, wealth, or other arbitrary factors. The term is derived from the Latin word "meritum," meaning "to deserve" or "to earn."
In a meritocracy, individuals are believed to rise to their positions and succeed based on their own skills, knowledge, talents, and hard work. The concept assumes that a person's worth and ability are determined solely by their individual merit, without any consideration for factors such as family connections, inherited wealth, or social class. Thus, the focus is on rewarding and promoting those who demonstrate exceptional abilities and achievements, regardless of their background or social standing.
The idea behind a meritocracy is to create a fair and just system that rewards individuals in proportion to their talent and effort, fostering upward social mobility and encouraging competition. Proponents argue that it promotes efficiency and productivity since individuals are motivated to work harder in order to achieve more significant rewards and recognition. However, critics argue that meritocracy can perpetuate inequality and create social divisions, as it assumes equal opportunities for everyone and ignores the impact of systemic barriers and disadvantages faced by certain groups.
Overall, the concept of meritocracy embodies the belief that positions of power and influence in society should be earned through individual merit rather than ascribed to factors beyond an individual's control.
Top Common Misspellings for MERITOCRACY *
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
Other Common Misspellings for MERITOCRACY
- aritocracy
- neritocracy
- keritocracy
- jeritocracy
- mwritocracy
- msritocracy
- mdritocracy
- mrritocracy
- m4ritocracy
- m3ritocracy
- meeitocracy
- meditocracy
- meritrocracy
- maritocracy
Etymology of MERITOCRACY
The word "meritocracy" is a combination of two words: "merit" and "cracy". "Merit" comes from the Latin word "meritus", which means "deserving" or "earnest". "Cracy" comes from the Greek word "kratos", which means "power" or "rule".
The term "meritocracy" was first coined by the British sociologist Michael Young in his 1958 book "The Rise of the Meritocracy". Young used the term to describe a hypothetical society where individuals' social and economic positions are determined solely by their abilities and merits rather than by birth or social class. The term has since been widely used to discuss systems or societies that purport to be based on merit, striving to reward individuals on the basis of their skills, qualifications, or achievements.
Similar spelling words for MERITOCRACY
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