This volume explores a range of conceptions of politically relevant merit found in the philosophical texts of pre-Qin China (before 221BCE). It demonstrates both that the role accorded to political merit was substantial and that the ideas of what constituted politically relevant merit were heavily contested. Through a focus on four texts, the _Xunzi_, the _Mozi_, the _Laozi_, and the _Han Feizi_, it sketches out a long-standing debate over questions including the appropriate source of merit, the relationship between political merit (...) and moral merit, and how merit should be nurtured and directed in the political arena. In doing so, it hopes to show why contemporary discussions of Asian-inspired political meritocracy, its promise, and its perils, are impoverished if they limit themselves to 'Confucian' notions of meritocracy rather than exploring more fully the wider variety on offer. (shrink)

The general paradigm view in Western philosophy is that democracy is the most legitimate form of government, but this book contends that there is a more legitimate system in the West by exploring the matter from the perspective of East Asian philosophy. It introduces a new Confucian hybrid system for the legislative branch built for Western societies called prometheocracy that fuses meritocracy with democracy. For this hybrid, all legislators must be democratically elected via one person, one vote, but in (...) order to run for office, candidates must pass certain merit requirements, like having a criminal background check, having prior work experience relevant to politics, and meeting education requirements. Just as any other professional job has merit requirements to get the position, such as being a professor, doctor, engineer, or lawyer, the most important professional jobs in the country should have them too. By relying on philosophical reasoning and empirical studies from the social sciences, this book overturns the paradigm of democracy in the West by concluding that prometheocracy is more morally legitimate than democracy. Furthermore, it demonstrates how prometheocracy is more legitimate in the West than other major competitors, like other Confucian hybrid theories and epistocracy. Overall, it concludes that based on Western political values, prometheocracy is the most legitimate form of government for legislature in the West. (shrink)

Meritocracy as a system of distributive justice has come under increasing criticism in recent years because its moral foundation is alleged to be weak. This paper presents a moral case for meritocracy based on individual justice as a first-order criterion and utilitarianism only as a second-order criterion. It also takes into account some realities of organizational governance that make "perfect" solutions impractical. Meritocracy, though clearly not a perfect solution, avoids or minimizes problems present in other formulations of (...) distributive justice. (shrink)

This chapter discusses beliefs about beauty and meritocracy. We ask to what extent beauty is believed to be an individual merit and how these beliefs can contribute to beauty-based inequalities. We first review the basic idea of merit and meritocracy research, drawing on previous literature in socio-economics. As this research tradition has not examined people’s perceptions of beauty as merit, we turn to previous beauty and inequality research in this analysis. The literature review makes it clear that there (...) is no unified view in the field of beauty and inequality research on the extent to which beauty can be considered an achieved or ascribed characteristic. Our empirical case, based on Finnish survey data, suggests that the best way to approach beauty as merit is to divide it into components and analyse them separately. In other words, the different components of appearance, and thus beauty, seem to be structured very differently along the ascribed-achieved continuum. In addition, our empirical case suggests that beliefs related to appearance seem to legitimize class-based and gender-based inequalities, in particular. At the end of the chapter, we present thoughts on how meritocracy research should include considerations of appearance-related characteristics and how researchers interested in appearance and inequality could better understand the phenomenon by taking into account the significance of prevailing societal beliefs. (shrink)

This article builds on the regime type comparison conducted recently by Dimitri Landa and Ryan Pevnick and presents a well-designed semi-parliamentarian democratic meritocracy as a theoretically plausible alterative to representative democracy. It advances two separate but interrelated claims. One is that attractive consequences which Landa and Pevnick have associated with a well-designed representative democracy can be equally matched by a well-designed semi-parliamentarian democratic meritocracy. The other is that their insights about the compatibility between political meritocracy and egalitarian (...) values can be further developed to address existing criticisms of democratic meritocracy in Confucian political theory and strengthen its normative justification. By making those two claims, the article contributes to a convergence of interests between Western democratic theory and Confucian political theory over the reconciliation of democracy with meritorious governance. (shrink)

이 논문은 현대 사회에서 능력주의가 초래한 도덕적, 사회적 불평등의 문제를 비판적으로 검토하고, 그 대안으로서 보편적 기본소득(UBI)의 철학적 정당성을 탐구한다. 자유주의의 핵심 원리인 개인의 자유와 평등이 능력주의의 성취담론 속에서 어떻게 왜곡되었는지를 분석하고, 필리프 반 파레이스의 ‘실질적 자유(real freedom)’ 개념을 중심으로 기본소득이 자유주의의 내적 긴장을 완화할 수 있는 제도적 대안이 될 수 있음을 논증한다. 이 연구는 능력주의와 자유주의의 내적 연관을 규명하고, ‘성취의 정의’에서 ‘존엄의 정의’로의 전환을 제안한다.

A philosophical meditation on merit and meritocracy in times when both have long been under fire and there is a pressing need to reconsider. Chapters within: 1. Running to and from BIG Monsters. 2. Grounding Merit Objectively. 3. Rethinking Meritocracy. 4. Nation, Utopia, Roots, Tradition. 5. A Summing Up. -/- The first chapter is geared toward a general readership; chapters two through four are primarily scholarly; chapter five engages everyone. Amazon Kindle offers a free preview of the front (...) matter and some of chapter one. (shrink)

This study introduces “anticipatory dignity” as a fundamental extension of human dignity discourse to address temporal challenges posed by algorithmic prediction in educational settings. Building on Kantian ethics, Feinberg’s “right to an open future”, and Raz’s conception of meaningful autonomy, anticipatory dignity designates the right to maintain cognitive openness against premature algorithmic classification that forecloses developmental possibilities before conscious choice can intervene. This philosophical innovation addresses a critical gap in educational philosophy: existing frameworks lack adequate conceptual resources to protect human (...) agency from predictive systems that transform educational development from open-ended self-discovery into continuous optimization. Analysis of South Korea’s AI Digital Textbook initiative illustrates how machine learning institutionalizes epistemic foreclosure despite promises of objectivity. The research proposes institutional mechanisms including Student Fundamental Rights Impact Assessments and prediction ceilings limiting algorithmic forecasts to developmentally appropriate timeframes. These proposals, informed by comparative analysis of EU, Dutch, and Canadian AI governance frameworks, ensure algorithmic personalization serves human flourishing rather than replacing human choice with machine inference. (shrink)

This paper offers a critical reappraisal of tournament theory, a cornerstone of organizational economics that models promotions and compensation as rank-order contests. While tournament theory has been widely praised for its efficiency-enhancing properties, its broader social and normative consequences remain insufficiently examined. Drawing on Elizabeth Anderson’s framework of relational egalitarianism, Private Government, and Hijacked, the paper argues that tournaments function not merely as incentive mechanisms but also as institutional and ideological arrangements that entrench domination and legitimate inequality. Institutionally, tournament-based evaluations (...) exemplify the “private government” of the workplace, in which the rules of competition are unilaterally imposed by employers. Ideologically, they align with neoliberal meritocracy, transforming the work ethic into a discourse that moralizes failure and naturalizes steep disparities. Together, these dynamics help explain both the persistence of tournament structures and their cumulative social consequences, including the erosion of trust and the narrowing of evaluative horizons through which worth and responsibility are understood. Rather than proposing a comprehensive alternative model of organizational governance, the paper offers a diagnostic account of tournament logic’s normative implications and highlights the need for management theory to attend not only to the efficiency of incentive systems but also to their moral and social consequences. (shrink)

This paper provides a systematic review of recent Mainland Chinese scholarship on Confucian political meritocracy, examining major research contributions across conceptual clarification, theoretical origins, historical practices, modern transformations, and comparative perspectives between China and the West. Centered on the Confucian ideal of selecting officials who embody both virtue and ability, Confucian political meritocracy developed a distinctive historical trajectory from the legendary abdication system to the institutionalization of the civil service examinations. Contemporary assessments of its modern relevance are divided: (...) some scholars highlight its potential institutional insights in response to the dilemmas of electoral democracy, while others criticize its risks of power imbalance and moralism. Overall, current Mainland Chinese scholarship on Confucian political meritocracy exhibits a rich and diverse intellectual landscape. The issue has increasingly become a key dimension in comparative political philosophy between China and the West, and it warrants further sustained and in-depth scholarly investigation. (shrink)

오늘날 능력주의는 자체 내의 ‘이념적 개혁성’을 상실하고 자본주의 체제의 불평등을 정당한 것인 양 오인시키면서, 변형된 ‘능력주의적 신분 세습제’를 구축하는 ‘지배 이데올로기’로 기능하고 있다. 이에 능력주의에 대한 근본주의적·해체론적 비판 담론은 능력주의의 전면적인 부정과 거부, 폐기를 주창한다. 하지만 이러한 급진적인 비판적 접근 방식은, 공정성 원칙으로서 능력주의를 대체할 실질적 대안이 구비되어 있지 않은 상황에서 자칫 평가 및 보상에 대한 ‘무(無)원칙(주의)적 무정부 상태’로 우리를 내몰 수 있다. 이에 더해, ‘다수의 한국인들이 능력주의를 여전히 공정한 평가 및 보상의 원칙으로 신뢰하고 있다’는 소위 ‘한국인의 사고방식’이 지배 이데올로기로서의 (...) 능력주의에 현혹 세뇌된 관념적 산물이거나 허위의식으로만 몰고 갈 수 없다는 점도, 능력주의 원칙의 폐기라는 처방의 수용을 저어하게 만든다. 게다가 능력주의의 불공정성 논란이 유독 한국과 미국을 중심으로 거세게 일고 있다는 점도, 능력주의의 해체에 앞서 그것이 구동하는 현실적 기반으로서 자본주의 내부의 구조적 결함에 기인한 불공정성이 보다 근본적인 문제인지를 먼저 따져 볼 필요가 있다. 이러한 실태를 감안할 때, 능력주의 원칙 자체와 능력주의가 작동하는 해당 사회 체제, 양자 간의 불공정성 정도를 비교 탐구해 보는 것이 우선이다. 그에 따라 자본주의 체제의 구조적 장애 및 결함이 사회적 불공정성의 보다 근원적인 요인임이 밝혀진다면, 자본주의 사회의 구조적·제도적 난점을 상당 수준 이상으로 해결·극복하는 작업이 선행되어야 할 것이다. 아울러 이와 병행하여 능력주의 원칙 자체도 ‘비판적 재구성’의 작업을 통해 내적 한계와 제한점들을 최대한 보정·혁신해 나가야 할 것이다. (shrink)

The relationship between cognitive enhancements (CE) and human autonomy or authenticity is generally positioned as how CE impact human autonomy or authenticity. But rarely, if ever, do we consider whether the value and pursuit of CE is an authentic one. In this paper, I will argue that the moral permissibility of cognitive gene enhancements is undone by the legitimate concern that the near universal value for such modifications is likely driven by oppressive norms for superintelligence and productivity. I argue that (...) these norms derive from the capitalist meritocracy: an economic system that structures inclusion and success based on patriarchal and racist norms of intelligence and productivity. The claim that the use of such enhancements fits within the autonomous scope of individual power is thus far weaker than it claims to be, particularly within the context of genetic modification. (shrink)

The chapter will argue that neither what may be called ‘multiple legitimacies’ nor what Leigh Jenco refers to as the hybrid view of legitimacy provides substantial guidance in reconceiving legitimacy in the increasingly pluralistic region of East Asia. Instead, a more helpful view of political legitimacy can be drawn from John Rawls’s liberal principle of legitimacy. I will demonstrate that Rawls’s classic formulation can be deprived of its liberal connotation by taking constitutional essentials as the source of legitimation for political (...) authority. On the basis of this principle of pluralistic legitimacy, it will become clear that a pluralistic understanding of political legitimacy does not rule out Confucian meritocracy, but it does make a strong case for an antiperfectionist state, even if it might be nondemocratic. (shrink)

This research contributes to the discussion about the connection between meritocracy, networking, and gender by exploring cronyism in Romanian academia in the context of this country’s post-socialist development, permeated by a culture of corruption. The primary data consist of interview answers from women in academia, reflecting on meritocracy and on how cronyism impacts career choices and opportunities. The multiple subjectivities of these women give voice to problems of their academic lives, and we understand how Romanian women academics make (...) sense of the present neoliberal academia. Is meritocracy gender blind? My study shows that meritocracy, networking and cronyism are gendered. Gendered micro-practices of networking and cronyism in the Romanian academia impact women’s development in connection to present understandings of meritocracy. (shrink)

This chapter contributes to the growing literature on meritocracy: the idea and narrative that economic inequalities are just because they reflect individual differences in desert. It discusses objections against meritocracy from the Right (Robert Nozick, Friedrich Hayek) and the Left (Amartya Sen, Iris Marion Young). It discusses whether markets can be said to reward merit (they typically do not) and whether it is merit or luck that primarily determines economic success (it is typically luck). It explains the emotional (...) corollary of meritocracy and how both winners and losers in a meritocracy are told to feel about their supposedly merited places on the socio-economic ladder. It argues that these emotional responses constitute a form of affective injustice. In addition, it provides an explanation why the “myth of meritocracy” is so stubborn and why it is endorsed by both its self-certified winners and its losers. (shrink)

This chapter examines early Confucian political theory, and argues that they were well aware of both the potentials and pitfalls of politics. This is most visible in their prescriptions about the cultivation, discipline, and employment of elites for the greater benefit of society. Mèngzǐ and Xúnzǐ dreamed of a perfect meritocracy where the wise are recognized, given power, and rule benevolently, overseen and selected by a sage king. This vision led to the persistent utopianism that Metzger and Angle criticize (...) in later Chinese political thought. But Mèngzǐ and Xúnzǐ were also vividly aware of the extreme difference between actual conditions and their meritocratic dream, and developed a number of thoughtful responses to the failures of existing politics. These ideas form a philosophy of elite cultivation and discipline that analyzes the “rule by people” necessary to complement and implement the “rule of law.”. (shrink)

The exchange between so‐called Confucian democrats and Confucian meritocrats has become one of the most prominent and sustained discussions within the field of Anglophone Confucian political philosophy. This article offers a thematic overview of these discussions and argues that three main points of contention have so far driven the debates: (a) the weight of the normative value of meritocratic rule, (b) the extent to which the people's political shortcomings should influence Confucian theorising and (c) the appropriate degree of democracy that (...) contemporary Confucian theories of government should embody. In this article, each of these issues is critically examined to reveal the lay of the land. In doing so, the article offers an informed entry point for readers seeking to understand both the current state and the potential for pushing the boundaries of one of the most contentious philosophical debates of our time. (shrink)

This paper attends to the rhetorical and discursive constructions of gendered violence in Ghanaian digital culture surrounding the prospective nomination of women on Ghana’s ORAL task force – Operation Recover All Loot. As a charged rhetorical site of gendered and epistemic violence against women’’s acumen, this study unravels the deployment of meritocratic logics, ornamentalism, claims of intellectual ineptitude, tropes of competency, and tokenistic rhetorics to delegitimize women’s inclusion in high-stakes political offices in Ghana. Grounded in African Feminist Theory and Critical (...) Discourse Analysis (CDA), this study evinces how public rhetors mobilize androcentric narratives on X to frame women as quintessential distractions and illegitimate political actors within anti-corruption initiatives. These discourses further establish a colonial gradient of neoliberalism, that constructs the political sphere as result-driven and inherently masculine, while co-naturalizing women as concerned with matters of beauty and aesthetics. The study calls for decolonial interventions nested within Indigenous public pedagogy and social media collective authorship for change. (shrink)

This article examines the incel (involuntary celibate) phenomenon among young heterosexual men through sociologist Hartmut Rosa’s theory of resonance and psychoanalyst Jessica Benjamin’s theory of mutual recognition. Situating the phenomenon within late-modern conditions of acceleration, meritocracy, and intensified performance demands, the article argues that it should not be understood as a subcultural anomaly but as symptomatic of a broader relational and cultural crisis, reflecting a deficit of resonance and mutual recognition. It further conceptualises this through gendered forms of subject (...) formation. The analysis shows how loneliness and perceived marginalisation intersect with misogynistic fantasies of dominance and control. These dynamics highlight the ethical stakes of the phenomenon, in which misogyny in incel discourses may function both as a defence against vulnerability and as an expression of deeper ideological instabilities within contemporary neoliberal logic. The article concludes that societal and educational practices are needed to foster ethical responsiveness and mutual recognition. (shrink)

Although equality of opportunity is a fundamental idea of the egalitarian project, there is a continuing controversy about the effective distributive implications of the notion. This paper focuses on this controversy, and maintains that when equality of opportunity is correctly understood, it entails strong distributive implications. In this way, this paper intends to reject the notion that equality of opportunity is associated with a non-institutional idea of meritocracy: an idea which is often used as an ideological tool to make (...) unacceptable inequalities seem acceptable. This paper defends the argument that only an ‘institution-dependent’ conception of equality of opportunity, such as Rawls’ fair equality opportunity, is the most adequate interpretation for a liberal democratic society. Nonetheless, it does not mean that individual merit has no place in liberal democratic societies. Fair equality of opportunity - if correctly understood - is deeply relevant and might contribute to a significant reduction of economic inequality, much more so than is currently perceived in the public debate. (shrink)

Can contemporary Confucian political theory contribute to both a culturally relevant and politically practicable public philosophy for East Asian societies, while simultaneously providing a model of comparative political theory that aspires to deprovincialize the West? This state-of-the-field essay examines how contemporary Confucian political theory has evolved in the past two decades in Anglophone academia, what challenges are posed to its further development, and how they could be addressed to anticipate a new epoch of modern political Confucianism in which Confucian political (...) theory becomes more engaged and grounded as a public philosophy that can also inspire Western political theory for mutual learning and growth. After critically examining various contemporary Confucian political theories—Confucian communitarianism, Confucian democracy, Confucian meritocracy, Confucian perfectionism, progressive Confucianism, and public-reason Confucianism—and their liberal challenges, this essay diagnoses the current crisis of Confucian political theory and shows a way to overcome it. (shrink)

In his book, Liberalism as a Way of Life, acknowledging the fact that today, many people in a liberal society do not have any other comprehensive doctrines than liberalism, and thus calling for putting aside later Rawls’s cautious project that is focused on an account of liberal citizen only, Alexandre Lefebvre tries to offer an account of how to be a liberal person by constructing a liberal comprehensive doctrine and a soulcraft for such a person. He criticizes the ‘classical liberals’ (...) and try to offer a set of truly liberal virtues. But they may not be sufficiently motivational and adequate, and his liberal soulcraft may be too egalitarian. In contrast, I call for a fuller return to the liberal tradition. We should promote some ‘thicker’ and ‘harder’ virtues, in addition to what Lefebvre does. We should also acknowledge the fact that only a few can become fully virtuous, and they should be given more power to rule. This meritocratic government should (and can) also play a paternalistic role of promoting virtues among its citizens, within liberal boundaries. Such a meritocracy may save liberalism from the threat of democracy and equality. (shrink)

Chapter 9 returns to discrimination in the labor market. More specifically, it explores the issue of the morality of cases where employers discriminate, not because they themselves harbor any discriminatory attitudes, but because of reaction qualifications, i.e. employers know that, say, customers harbor discriminatory preferences as a result of which salespersons of a particular race or gender have better qualifications from a purely economic perspective. The existence of reaction qualifications seems to imply that despite the fact that all hiring is (...) done on a purely meritocratic basis, members of some groups may do much worse than members of other groups. To avoid this implication, some theorists have argued that employment justice, including the ideal of meritocracy, requires that reaction qualifications rooted in discriminatory responses should be disregarded. The chapter challenges this view and argues that it fails to consider a sufficiently wide range of cases where reaction qualifications matter. (shrink)

The first chapter of Prometheocracy outlines the main philosophical contributions of this book that include showing that a new Confucian meritocracy–democracy hybrid, prometheocracy, is more legitimate than democracy in the West. It also distinguishes the central forms of government in this inquiry, such as democracy, meritocracy, meritocracy–democracy, and epistocracy. It also introduces prometheocracy. For prometheocracy, all legislators must be democratically elected via one person, one vote, but in order to run for office, candidates must pass certain merit (...) requirements, like a criminal background check, having prior work experience relevant to politics, and education requirements. This chapter then distinguishes the project of prometheocracy as being in non-ideal theory rather than in ideal theory. It ends by providing chapter-by-chapter summaries. (shrink)

This chapter argues that objections to affirmative action based on the ideal of meritocracy have little force. Initially, the chapter distinguishes a concern for merit from the concern not to disappoint reasonable expectations. It then offers two counterexamples to the claim that the best qualified applicants have a claim to the positions for which they have applied. The chapter also argues that once we adopt a suitably broad notion of merit, many putative affirmative action schemes do not clash with (...) the principle of merit, and, in any case, outreach affirmative action is compatible with standard, but problematic, versions of the merit principle. It then expresses skepticism about the fruitfulness of building into the notion of affirmative action that selected candidates must be minimally qualified. Finally, the chapter suggests that it is an open question whether selecting applicants who are not the most meritorious results in the selected individuals having a lower level of merit. The reason for this is that affirmative action affects the pool of applicants. (shrink)

This chapter looks at some leading proposals for dealing with the fact that the labor market confers rewards unequally. Over the years, governments have made various attempts to correct for this by regulating or intervening with the labor market, such as the minimum wage and the welfare state. After discussing these familiar solutions, the chapter examines some proposals that have not (yet) been widely implemented through labor market legislation, such as universal basic income. These proposals have interesting philosophical arguments behind (...) them and which seek to improve on what governments currently do. They also raise a number of interesting questions about the nature of work and ideas of meritocracy in the workplace. (shrink)

This chapter draws on familiar as well as little-discussed data from the social sciences, such as from political psychology and political science, to conclude that there are substantial problems with democracy. These studies will show that there are instrumental worries with democracy, where there are concerns about whether democracy is a good instrument for arriving upon good outcomes. This instrumental assessment of democracy in terms of outcomes will demonstrate that there is significant room for improvement, and it opens the door (...) for hybridizing democracy with meritocracy to alleviate some of the concerns. The second chapter also will provide instrumental-based arguments in favor of prometheocracy. It will examine data from the social sciences that support hybrid theories as well as draw new philosophical arguments in favor of having meritocracy and democracy components. It also rejects mathematical arguments for the instrumental power of democracy, such as Condorcet’s Jury Theorem and the benefits of cognitive diversity by Landemore. (shrink)

This chapter provides a luck egalitarian (or radical) account of justice in hiring. The account has three components: individuals do not have a claim to the job for which they are the best qualified (non-meritocracy); Jobs deserve no special status within a theory of justice (monism); jobs should not be allocated based on arbitrary considerations (non-discrimination). The chapter then defends this account from some prominent objections, namely that it may end up in fact condoning discrimination. It is ends by (...) addressing three specific tough cases: statistical discrimination, discrimination on maternity grounds, and hiring within small family businesses. On all these difficult cases, it is argued, luck egalitarian justice in hiring provides an attractive and plausible account. (shrink)

This paper criticizes liberalism as a way of life by contrasting liberal assumptions, autonomy, reciprocity, and individual equality, with Confucian insights on relational personhood, care, and obligation. First, it argues that liberalism’s scope is limited: familial care, dependency, and many social roles do not operate according to reciprocity or autonomous choice. Second, it contends that liberal values lack substantive resources to resolve life’s central questions – childrearing, eldercare, and duties to kin. Third, it examines ‘liberaldom’, where liberal ideals coexist with (...) capitalism and meritocracy, and argues that an atomistic liberal anthropology helps produce inequality. The paper proposes a Confucian relational moral vocabulary attentive to care and cultivation. (shrink)

STEM fields perpetuate systemic racism under the guise of meritocracy, forcing Black, Latino, and Indigenous students—particularly women—to endure racialized stress, institutional exclusion, and the psychological toll of weathering and racial battle fatigue. This paper argues that narratives of “grit” and “resilience” individualize these systemic failures, pathologizing rational responses to hostile environments as personal deficits like “imposter syndrome.” We introduce the framework of Equity Ethics—a measurable commitment to social justice comprising an equity ethos and equity action—to demonstrate how marginalized STEMmers (...) are actively re-engineering their fields toward liberation, often at great personal cost. In an era of eroding DEI initiatives, we move beyond critique to propose a radical blueprint for structural reckoning. Grounded in four core criteria—material redistribution, power-shifting, structural accountability, and solidarity—we advocate for actionable solutions, including mandatory diversity cluster hires, trauma-informed mentoring, decolonized curricula, and reparative funding models. We conclude that the time for incremental reform has passed; only a fundamental dismantling of STEM's racist architecture can transform it from a site of exclusion into a platform for liberation. (shrink)

The success of the Gerindra Party as a political party that is able to survive in national politics cannot be separated from the leadership of Prabowo Subianto as a symbol of party leadership in carrying out political consolidation, both related to party ideology, strategy, and movement discipline. Prabowo’s personality and leadership factors have been the mainstays of the success of the Gerindra Party since its founding until now in the entire party consolidation process from the national and provincial to district/city (...) levels in many regions in Indonesia to be able to survive in four (times) elections and finally achieve power with Prabowo’s election as President of the Republic of Indonesia for the 2024-2029 term. This research method is qualitative research with descriptive analysis. The purpose of this study is to analyze how Prabowo’s figure becomes a symbol of party leadership. The results of this study explain the choice of the Gerindra Party to implement political meritocracy, although the nuances are very positive in terms of political morality, has not been fully understood by the community. The election system in Indonesia, which is open and adopts a multi-party system, has an impact on the community’s choice not being narrowed down to the Gerindra Party in the regions. During the campaign, Prabowo’s position as a presidential candidate meant that he had to campaign not only specifically for the Gerindra Party because morally Prabowo was supported by coalition political parties. (shrink)

This paper examines the crisis of meritocracy within liberal governance, exposing its role in perpetuating inequality under the guise of fairness. Employing the ‘morphogenetic régulation’ analytical approach, it traces the institutional origins of inclusive governance through the tension between meritocracy and systemic privilege. The study contrasts two perspectives: (1) the orthodox view, rooted in rational choice institutionalism, which frames inequality as a technical issue solvable through market-driven reforms, as seen in World Bank policies, and (2) the heterodox perspective, (...) informed by critical theorists, which views inequality as a product of relational power dynamics, demanding structural transformation. Analyzing World Bank reports and theories of oppression, the paper reveals how the inclusive governance, while aiming for equity, reformulates neoliberal logics, failing to address deeper systemic disparities. This analysis highlights the limits of both perspectives, advocating for a reimagined social justice that transcends neoliberal constraints to tackle global inequalities. (shrink)

Equality is a fundamental moral concept, yet its precise nature and practical implications remain controversial. In romantic relationships, discussions of equality typically center on two key dimensions: (a) equal status and autonomy, and (b) equal personal value. While the first is largely undisputed, the second—on which this article focuses—is more complex and divisive. I propose that a partner’s overall personal value can be assessed using two scales: (a) a nonrelational meritocracy scale, and (b) a relational suitability scale. Because romantic (...) relationships unfold within specific life frameworks—which are inherently unequal—individuals often make romantic compromises, sacrificing romantic value for improved living conditions. Given that high scores on both scales can enhance personal flourishing, would we truly want a partner who is wiser or more attractive than ourselves? The conceptual analysis presented here, supported by empirical findings, offers important insights into sustaining enduring and fulfilling romantic relationships. (shrink)

In philosophy and ethics education, instructional methods are often developed independently of specific historical or cultural contexts. Underlying this approach is the widespread assumption that the primary goal of ethics education is the promotion of “independent thinking” (_Selbstdenken_). Using the discourse in the German-speaking world as a case study for a broader international paradigm, this article critically examines the pedagogical reliance on independent, rational thought. While intended as an ameliorative project to foster student autonomy and social participation, this metacognitive focus (...) is deeply rooted in Enlightenment concepts that risk epistemic blindness toward diverse philosophical traditions. Furthermore, drawing on sociological and psychological perspectives (including Bourdieu and Lareau), the paper argues that treating independent thinking as an educational panacea obscures the reproduction of social inequalities. It euphemizes cultural capital as a natural cognitive gift, thereby individualizing systemic disparities. To counter this, the article concludes by proposing seven pedagogical principles for ethics education. These principles aim to diversify instructional arrangements, deconstruct the illusion of meritocracy in the classroom, and shift the focus toward collective emancipation and the explicit recognition of complex sociocultural identities. (shrink)

Classical music flourishes today among certain groups in some major cities. However, a range of problems are commonly cited with it, including the dominance of big stars and a lack of meritocracy, inadequate income options for non-star musicians, a loss of small and intimate concerts in favor of big glossy festivals, challenges in making classical music relevant today, and the fact that the democratization of classical music is a distinctly unfinished project. Chapter 7 explores the determination of musicians and (...) music-lovers working individually and through organizations beyond music schools to improve access and to be charitable through music. It also looks at projects that aim to fix other problems or blocks in the ecosystem. This shows classical and Hindustani music as essentially dynamic, replete with schemes and innovations of varying and also conflicting conception. (shrink)

This chapter explains how, in the years since the GFC, the new (old) promises that rising tides lift all boats and eternal growth is not only desirable but downright imperative have returned in the form of yet more trickle-down myths of eternal economic growth. Additionally, social Darwinism has taken hold again, this time in the form of meritocracy, while the old 1980s politico-economic maxim that There Is No Alternative (TINA) struck back. Thus, middle classes and democracies are slowly but (...) surely liquidated by the forces of speculation, inequality and corruption, and the trajectories of the haves, hopes and heards are separated from the have-nots, hope-nots and heard-nots. The blame for the ever-rising inequality and costs of life, liberty and security has predictably fallen on the poor, foreign and marginalized. Subsequently, what was once neoliberalism has curdled into something more akin to neofeudalism: another highway to serfdom, where the division between global ruling/owning and working/renting classes ensures that social, political and economic agency grows only wider and more concentrated. (shrink)

Executive search consultants and company decision makers are important gate keepers when diversity of boards and top management is determined. In this qualitative explorative research, we interviewed 22 executive search consultants and 22 company representatives in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary to discover how they consider diversity and how they enhance or hinder the diversity of executive teams. Our findings show that most interviewees had a generally positive attitude towards diversity, and only a small proportion were explicitly against (...) it. At the same time, they elaborated that meritocracy has priority over diversity, and they would only give preference to minority candidates when they outperform or, in some cases, equally perform as the majority candidates. Beyond that, a few “accidental activists” were also among the interviewees who actively moved forward with the issue of diversity, and they were willing to select minority candidates and challenge their business partners. At the same time, their initiatives failed when the other party preferred the traditional candidates. This is why diversity is contested in the region. (shrink)

Ethical reflection in ancient Egyptian grave inscriptions and in works of moral advice, such as the _Maxims of Ptahhotep_ and the Instructions named for Amenemope, Ani, and Merikare. Special focus is given to Ptahhotep’s reflections on knowledge and the virtue of silence, the dialogical dimension of The Instruction of Ani, and the arguments for meritocracy and wealthy bureaucracy in The Instruction Addressed to King Merikare.

Neoliberalism, driven by market principles, has influenced various sectors. This includes science and higher education—particularly STEM fields—in Central and Eastern Europe. These trends disadvantage those who have nonlinear career paths and care duties, often women and younger researchers. While recent Polish reforms have focused on early-career researchers, gender equality remains unaddressed in legal acts. This chapter aims to explore how the evolving academic landscape impacts older female STEM researchers, who are often overlooked in reforms due to their gender and ages. (...) By conducting a secondary qualitative analysis of autobiographical narratives from four female professors over the age of seventy, the study described in this chapter seeks to understand the professors’ experiences across different life phases, focusing on science transformations. I conducted interviews in 2017 and 2018, soon before the new law on science and higher education was implemented. From analysing the interviews, three main issues around science transformation emerged: stability vs. precarity, maturity vs. youth, and slow science vs. fast science. Gender inequality was also highly relevant. Senior female professors contrast the pre-reform era’s less frenetic academic environment with the intense pressure of the present day to publish and secure grants. Despite recognising the challenges of neoliberal reforms, several of the participants continue to believe in meritocracy, attributing their success to determination, and frequently overlooking the systemic barriers that can disadvantage women. (shrink)

Chapter 7 will compare prometheocracy to epistocracy. Meritocracy focuses on the merit of leaders, while epistocracy emphasizes the merit of voters. It will be shown that prometheocracy has a higher probability of doing better than epistocracy and democracy in accounting for minority interests and rights. Moreover, this chapter shows that prometheocracy is more morally legitimate than epistocracy on general grounds too in significant part due to little discussed empirical political psychology studies showing that knowledgeable high political information voters are (...) more tribalistic than low political information voters. By the end of the book, I will conclude that for the legislative branch and once getting clear and coherent on Western liberal values, prometheocracy reigns supreme and is more morally legitimate in the West for legislature than its main competitors, like democracy, other Confucian hybrids, and epistocracy. It’s the most legitimate form of government for Western liberal societies based on Western values. (shrink)

This article challenges the claim that Friedrich Nietzsche is a good reader of the French moralist, Chamfort, when it comes to Chamfort's politics. Chamfort is a meritocrat rather than the bitter egalitarian Nietzsche protrays him to be. Moreover, the moralist's meritocratic beliefs, his hopes for a new social order and the emergence of a new aristocracy resemble many of Nietzsche's own values. Had Nietzsche read Chamfort as a meritocrat, he could have found much to stimulate and clarify his own thoughts (...) about the aristocracy of the future. (shrink)

Building on prior research in Confucianism and business, the current study examines the effects of Confucianism on consumer trust of government involvement with products and company brands. Based on three major ideas of Confucianism – meritocracy, loyalty to superior, and separation of responsibilities – it is expected that consumers under the influence of Confucianism would perceive products from government-involved enterprises to have more desirable attributes and show preference for their company brands. Findings from an empirical study in the Chinese (...) automobile market support the hypotheses. The results suggest that small firms doing business in China would especially benefit from some association with the government. These results also provide managerial implications for enterprises in other countries with a Confucian cultural background. (shrink)

Mario Bunge offers here a political philosophy and a view of current politics as judged by his vision of an integrated democracy that is thoroughly green, quasi-communalist, participatory, and quasi-socialist; all enterprises there belong to their workers. He tempers his egalitarianism with some meritocracy. His vision is impracticable but deserves examination.

La meritocracia es sinónimo de conocimientos o prácticas, que se jerarquizan y estratifican de acuerdo a principios de excelencia y competencia, dirección y capacitación, para la toma de decisiones. Una sociedad o institución es meritocrática, en la medida que se orienta por valores de máxima..

Education is a violent act, yet this violence is concealed by its good intent. Education presents itself as a distinctly improving, enabling practice. Even its most radical critics assume that education is, at core, an incontestable social good. Setting education in its political context, this book, now in paperback, offers a history of good intentions, ranging from the birth of modern schooling and modern examination, to the rise (and fall) of meritocracy. In challenging all that is well-intentioned in education, (...) it reveals how our educational commitments are always underwritten by violence. Our highest ideals have the lowest origins. Seeking to unsettle a settled conscience, Benign Violence: Education in and beyond the Age of Reason is designed to disturb the reader. Education constitutes us as subjects; we owe our existence to its violent inscriptions. Those who refuse or rebel against our educational present must begin by objecting to the subjects we have become. (shrink)