Dissecting The Myths Of Merit And Meritocracy PART-I

Narendra Kumar Arya

15 January, 2013
Countercurrents.org:

“We don't think a slight error implies madness but just as they call strong desire love, so they name grand delusion madness.” 1

( Socrates , Xenophon, 1923)

What is merit? The opinion one man entertains of another. 2

Lord Palmerston, British Prime Minister.

An essay exploring to deflate the notion of merit and meritocracy as ‘a palpable social reality' hinged around the myths, misconceptions, prejudices and ethnic stereotypes conspired by the elite and dominant oligarchs globally and in special context of India. It enquires the claims and arguments from multidisciplinary approach of politics, neoliberalism, elite theory, psychology and neurosciences

Exclusivity is a marked phenomenon in the scheme of universe, visible in its entire animate and inanimate world. Two things are never identical but this distinctiveness does not entail rationale for discrimination, vertical ranking, inculcation of the sense of inferiority and superiority, oppression and prejudice towards individuals and communities. What is essence of humanity? Is not it feeling and bond of being one irrespective of geospatial or ethnic variability and heterogeneity? Despite, that we see no dearth of people, projects, ideological apparatuses and institutions which vehemently believe and propagate discrimination, hatred, violence and conflicts. The democracies around the world seek to bring democratic ideals to life but they hardly have spirit in their societies to enact them. Inequality, discrimination, injustice, oppression, social prejudice and communal hatred is abundant and manifested in many forms; this is more true and stark in societies which are like living social fossils of primitive minds and mentality like ours. Instead of attempting and cooperating in annihilating the onus of dead culture and ideological apparatus which are antithetical to the spirit of democracy and the progressive constitution- a compulsive instrument to reform their obstinate conscience - they are not yet mentally ready to be reformed and now and then put forth new polemical devices to reinstate status-quo or ‘glorious past'. Merit and meritocracy- as substantial basis of operation of present mode of society and democracy- are axiomatic social reality, they claim, and not the one desirable form, is favourite trumpet of this ancient breed.

Merit and Caste Elite: Rationale for Power

Merit as a social conception is one of the means for justification of present systems operating on miniscule social support and large scale economic disequilibrium along with persistent implicit failures and contradictory confines. It is wooed with same passion as money in societies contemporary. Merit is one of the strongest legitimising force or conception coined by its adherent to hoodwink their inherent agenda. “Even before the arrival of democracy, the character of premodern Indian 'society had been highly fragmented, and an interventionist democratic state has facilitated rapid political mobilization of various castes, classes, and religious and language groups. Add to this the roles of powerful economic actors such as business groups and the landowning peasantry, who depend heavily on state resources and thus wish to block access by others... ” 3

Often merit is thrown as a challenge to society by the elite. It is regular working mechanism by which the ruling elite tame the wild desires or proper rights to ascendency or popular threat by putting it before the ruled or common masses. In its challenging character is implied the meaning that the merit is not a thing of masses; so better, they be satisfied with their present fate and fatalistic destinies, in common parlance. The colloquial universality of the embedded mechanism of merit is that it cannot be attained by one and all but the chosen few. Though the societies based on the principles of capitalist endeavours proclaim that merit is as freely available as freedom in their societies as freedom itself is meant to be meritorious. So going by that logic every individual has easy access to it. It's attainable. But in their simplistically seeming contrived hypothetication, they muddle the way freedom grapples with justice and equality.

In the bragging behaviour of elite merit is frequently metaphored to biologically embedded abilities and capabilities. To simplify, it is believed to be same sort of ‘pure blood of geneticism' which had flown in the arteries of Nazis, Fascists, Nordics Brahmins and other plethora of racial brags.

The biological vanity is disguised though rarely revealed public outburst, rationale behind the supportive ideologies of meritocracies, merits and meritocism as the ultimate acid test of existing liberal societies.

It is believed by the historians that Chinese aristocratic system was the first system where use of ‘merit' was introduced. Since then the world has seen many perversions of ‘merit system, along with equally popular spoil system. The historical growth of merit system shows that a particular class has a fancy and preference for meritorious individuals. Merit thus appears to be a system –generated bug. It is systemic.

The prevalent systems of governance always require a particular breed of people most suitable to their needs. Merit in its origin is symptomatically need-based and class-conscious. The criteria of merit is not as desired by the demos but as fixed by their masters. The merit in essence is the characteristic in a class of people who are deemed to be appropriate and likeable as per the need of power structures. Thus merit is relative sort of conception which has flourished and transformed in the aspirations of the ruling stratum, at the specific periods of the history, as desired.

To use Foucaultian paraphrasing, the desire to control people required, the need for developing a system of discipline and punishment where merit worked as the invisible and morally-correct weapon of controlling the ever demanding people. It was the psychological baton for haunting people away from corridors of power, wealth and elite-ousting. The barrier of difference among people was created in the name of justifying principle of merit. Those who don't have please don't dare to dream! Merit worked as bulwark to protect interest of the elite. Masses have to cross the armies of naturally meritorious people and declared breed of meritorious people, if they ever dreamt of challenging the incumbent elite.

The philosophy and merit and synonymous concepts have always been put forth by incumbent elite. The history of people shows that elite have always been more meritorious in usage of violence, power, bloodshed, massacre and death-sentencing than applying their hard earned merit and competence to win people; their merit has come from linage of Barbary and bloody seeds than refined subduing. These picturesque characteristics are truer as to the sketches of past as modernity or now, with very insignificant changes. The way of behaviourism has become complicated, sophistry-happy and covertly disguised. The crude initial forms of power have now been theoretised and institutionalised in the psyche of the mind.