Is The US Really A Meritocracy?

One of the most common misconceptions about US society is that we live under a perfectly fair, egalitarian system which rewards those who have intelligence and a strong work ethic. This is the myth of American meritocracy. In this episode, we'll explore why the US is not a true meritocracy, and why we shouldn't want to live in one regardless.

Is The US Really A Meritocracy? – Second Thought

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Second Thought is a channel devoted to education and analysis of current events from a Leftist perspective. Welcome!

[lastnamefirstname]

I love that you admit you would fail in a meritocracy. Most people can't be that brutally honest with themselves. It shows amazing self awareness. Despite that, you have a loyal following and have become successful, while doing something that's good for society. I think this is a wonderful example of capitalist conditioning being harmful. It stops you from doing the things you love and making a difference.

[gwendolynsnyder]

What's considering classy if you're rich, but trashy if you're poor?

Receiving money from the government.

[emilydarkness]

It's fascinating how those born into wealth and power seem to think they've earned everything themselves.

[rickeybernard]

A story real quick. When I was in school I excelled at every subject, a real jack of all trades. Because of this, I was able to go to an honor party, and received rewards. I felt torn. I was black and poor so I rarely got anything so I was grateful, but I had to watch kids suffer because they weren't lucky enough to be intelligent some of which are black.
I'll never forget how horrible I felt as I received an award and my fellow students were forced to watch. I am happy could empathize. I hate the idea of being better because of something I inherited.
P.S: teachers tried destroying my and other kids' grades when we scored higher than our White counterparts. Merit was never the goal. Feeling superior is.

[bluecheetah]

Man raised by wolves: “ I’m self made”
Wolves: wtf

[Islandswamp]

I don't want to be rich. I want to get by without constantly worrying about everything. Basic survival isn't even close to guaranteed.

[Knedlajz]

Funny thing is that winning at monopoly isn't so much dictated by strategy as by luck through the roll of the dice

[redvorno]

Let's also not forget that even Monopoly has universal basic income

[seybertooth]

I once heard a Wall Street analyst say this: if you put a thousand people in a room flipping coins, someone is going to get ten heads in a row, just through statistical chance, i.e. luck. When you ask him how he did it, he'll say "It's all in the wrist, you gotta have the right skill". That's the stock market, someone is going to get lucky and he will inevitably think it's because he is good.

[MarkSoupial]

“I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.”

― Stephen Jay Gould

[WaltersMama]

people might say that we live in a meritocracy, but no one acts like they do, this is especially obvious with parenting. if we really lived in a place where everyone had a fair shot at being successful, then parents wouldn't spend so much time, energy and money on making sure their kids go to the "right" kind of schools, get enrichment activities, extra tutoring help, etc.

[kated]

The amount of Trump supporters I talked with who genuinely thought the guy's wealth meant he was some successful genius and superior being.... don't know about you guys but had I inherited 250+ millions I'd probably still be doing pretty good financially!

[atticuscb]

After college I definitely didn't get my job cause I did well in business school, I got my job cause I did a girl's Spanish homework and she got her dad, who's a VP, to get me a job at the company he works in.

[MayDayMei]

Successful Person: "Yeah, I earned all of my wealth. First, I had an idea, then my rich uncle left me a small inheritance of $5, 000, 000, and then I opened my business!"

[xeyon]

Life should not be seen as a competition but as a collaboration. Beautiful sentiment. Totally agree.

[this.is.spencer]

"Luck is when hard work meets opportunity" never made sense to me. What gives one an opportunity if not luck? The people who accept and repeat this phrase assume that everyone has been bombarded with opportunities their whole life, because they have been. They don't realize that getting those opportunities is part of their luck, and not freely given to everyone.

[professorgrimm]

As a quite privileged person, I must say: Checking your own privilege and acknowledging that much of the success in your life stems from privilege instead of merit is not a fun thing to do. It's quite uncomfortable, but it is necessary. Ever since acknowledging my own privilege, I've become much more compassionate to other people and much more content with my own life.

[legateelizabeth]

I’m actually really curious if the reverse of the “privileged people think they did well” thing is true. Do people who aren’t well off say that they’ve failed and blame themselves?

[Dan-udhz]

"A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. “I've been thinking, ” he said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."
Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door

[johnb]

As a professor once told me, it's Who you know, not What you know that really matters in life.